Forever and A Day
by Brennanite47
Summary: High-school fic. Dana Scully doesn't have a life outside of academics. Add one rebellious teenage boy by the name of Fox Mulder, and watch what happens. Chapter Twenty-Seven now up. Bet you thought you'd never read that again, did you? XD
1. Breaking The Ice

_**Look who's ba-ack? lol. I know I haven't been around because exams are starting in school (ugh...) and I haven't really had time to invest in writing, but this was something I really wanted to try. This is my first high school fic, and I guess I better clarify a few things before we start this bad boy.**_

_**First, and as always, I don't own X-Files or it's characters, but it'd be sweet if I did. I have also not made Mulder's father involved in the government in any way, shape, or form, so he's probably just gonna be a regular business dad, but we'll worry about that later, along with the only child thing, that'll come out down the road as well...that is...if you guys leave me feedback. All work and no feedback doesn't make me a very happy writer. xD**_

_**Anyway, instead of listening to me rant, how about we actually get going? Happy reading. :)**_

* * *

Chapter One:

Dana Scully maneuvered her way through the congested halls of her local high school. Being short usually meant she could make it to class faster than the current rate traffic was taking, but there really was no rush to Chemistry, of all classes.

It was late February in Maryland, and she'd just turned seventeen. Scully couldn't help but wonder why it felt like her life was flying by so fast. It barely felt like yesterday she was a scared, awkward freshman with braces when now she was a overachieving junior with a straightened smile. She knew her days were filled with studying, working, being her brother's chauffer, and then more studying. An all-too interesting way to spend one's golden days.

She entered her second period class: Chemistry with Mr. Gorschek. Scully went to her lab table and couldn't help but notice John Doggett and Monica Reyes in the back corner, making goo-goo eyes and playing footsy with each other. She knew the two of them. They were a cute couple and were a complete fit for one another. It didn't stop the very small green-eyed monster from rising just a little in Scully's heart.

A short moment of weakness, yes, but it was there nonetheless. It didn't happen very often anymore; just usually a couple moments around her birthday and wintertime in general. Scully looked around and saw her friends who had boyfriends and would wonder if she would ever be as happy as John and Monica obviously were.

Scully pulled out her chemistry book along with a well-worn copy of "Moby Dick". It had been her favorite book since she was a child. She just gotten into semi-conscious state of reading when she heard someone clear their throat next to her. She looked up into the hazel eyes of the six foot tall boy standing to the left of her table. His brown hair was spiked up unconsciously and complemented his tanned skin.

She couldn't tell why, but Scully's heart was beating in her chest like a bongo drum and her breathing constricted. Reprimanding herself, she snapped herself out of her trance.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked casually. Scully could tell he was new to the school. In this school, people weren't polite in asking whether they could sit next to you or not. They did as they pleased.

Forcing herself to meet his gaze, she replied, "No, go ahead." she moved her bag in the process.

"Thanks." he smiled as he slid into the seat next to her. His smile was an arch of perfect white teeth and Scully caught a whiff of his cologne that would've sent her knees knocking had she been standing up. "I'm Fox Mulder, by the way." he held his hand out to her in offering.

She squeezed his hand with her own. "Dana Scully." she smiled and returned to her book, hoping he wouldn't catch her girlish infatuation with him.

Mr. Gorschek came in at that moment, calling the class to order. He took roll call the same way as every day and entered the absences into his computer to be sent down to the office.

"Now class, I hope you're all ready for that quiz we discussed yesterday." he stated with a faked cheeriness.

The class groaned collectively.

"That's the spirit." Mr. Gorschek smiled a genuine smile this time. The students began throwing complaints out left and right, but Scully sat up straight. She was ready for it, studying most of the previous night and making sure she knew the material.

The teacher handed the pair two quizzes and both started them quickly. Scully flew through the questions, recalling the answers with remarkable speed. Looking it over again, she turned her paper over after ten minutes.

Scully picked up her book and searched for the spot she'd left at when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Mulder's own paper was turned face down and he was doodling on a random page of his notebook. She took out a page from her own binder and scribbled in an elegant script _"You're done already?"_

She slid the note over to him. He read it and replied with a smile, "_Yeah, Chem's one of my strong subjects. Must be for you, too."_

"_Not exactly. Had a late night studying." _

He chuckled quietly and paused for a long minute before he wrote his next words. _"Do you want to have lunch with me?"_

Her heart started to thunder in her chest again, and Scully really didn't know why. She also wondered why she felt compelled to tell him no. It wasn't like she sat with anyone at lunch. She sat with the brainiacs who only accepted her because she was one of them, and she didn't converse with them on any level. She shook her head and wrote out the letters.

"_Very much so." _

"Dana and Fox, if I see that note change hands one more time, it becomes mine to read aloud to the rest of the class." Mr. Gorschek said without looking up from the stack of papers he was correcting.

The class oohed and awed in accordance with Scully's blush and Mulder's dismissive shake of head. He crumpled the paper into a ball and held it in a death grip until he could find a safe place to get rid of it.

Scully returned to her book, immersing herself in the world of the sailor and his epic battle with the great white whale. Even though she gave it an honest effort, a smile seemed to have embedded itself into her face.

Mulder sat in the corner of the commons area next to the cafeteria. Despite the fact students were _technically _suppose eat in the lunch room, no one of authority really cared if students leaned up against the awards cases while they ate. He spread his backpack out in such a way to save a space for her when she came in.

He watched the door intently, keeping an eye peeled for the flaming red hair that had initially caught his attention that morning. Mulder wondered why he felt so drawn to ask her to sit with him at lunch, but the compulsion he felt to even ask after looking into those bright blue-green eyes was overwhelming.

She came into the commons and scanned the area quickly. Her expression lit up when her eyes came to rest on him and he took her in. Petite and short, she sported a black turtle-neck sweater and matching black jeans with high-heeled boots, adding a couple inches to her height. What he found most alluring was the lack of make-up on her face. Sure she had her eyes done up lightly in eyeliner and mascara, but other than that, she was completely natural. She wasn't like the other girls he'd seen around this new school who looked like they'd raided a clown car.

The blush that came across her face under his gaze had him wonder what she was so nervous about. She seemed to be doing it a lot.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked shyly as she stood beside him, looking down to where he was on the floor.

"It has your name on it." he smiled and moved his bag out of the way for her to sit.

Scully sank to the floor beside him. They sat eating silently for a few minutes before she decided to strike up a conversation. "So what brings you to our little town, Fox?"

He chuckled. "Please, call me Mulder. I despise my name."

She smiled, "Okay, Mulder."

"My dad got a new job here that's more secure and better pay than his last one, even though it feels like I never see him as it is already." he stated.

"Oh," she tensed visibly. It wasn't exactly the answer she'd expected. "I'm sorry."

Mulder shook his head, the smile still in place. "Don't apologize for something you know nothing about. I wanna know more about you, anyway."

It was Scully's turn to laugh. "It's a short story. My dad's a Navy captain, my mom stays at home. I have three siblings: two older, one younger." she swallowed, growing solemn, "I'm a bookworm and I have no life. Your turn."

"Well, I'm an only child. My father works for an advertising agency and my mom stays at home, too. I'm seen as a freak wherever I go. Nice to meet you." he held out his hand again.

Scully shook his hand for the second time that day. "Why do people think you're a freak?"

Mulder shook his head, looking down into his half-gone yogurt. "You know the basic types of guys, right?"

"You mean like the stereotypes? Of course. Why?" she prodded.

"I'm an odd duck. I think about things most others don't, I don't attract big crowds of friends, I'm not a social butterfly, I'm weird." he drew his knees up and rested his elbows on them as he peeled a banana.

Scully watched the action carefully, then looked down to her own carrot sticks. "I don't think you're weird." she said as she bit into one.

"You don't know me that well." he stated the fact.

"Yet." she whispered first, but her voice soon found its strength again. "Why did you ask me to sit with you?"

He closed his eyes. Mulder had been wondering the same thing, and had found the answer. "You were the first person who hadn't looked at me today and automatically assumed I was strange. May I say something without implying any offense."

"Sure." she said.

Mulder leaned over so she was the only one who could hear him say, "I think you think I'm cute."

Scully felt her cheeks flush fire engine red and was surprised her eyes hadn't bugged out of her skull. Her sight fixated on the floor for a few seconds before she could think of what to do to get her out of there. "I…I have to go." she mumbled and started to get up. She would go hide in the library until the next bell.

He got up with her and put his hands on her shoulders, keeping her in place if even for a few seconds and leaned down to the same ear as before.

"Just so you know, I think you're beautiful."

Her feet were glued to the floor as she watched him walk away. Monica had passed him and came up to Scully.

"Hey Danes, isn't that guy in our chem class?" she asked.

"Yeah." Scully replied in a breath.

"I've heard weird things about him." Monica was ready to go into an intense gossip session just as Scully regained the use of her feet and willed herself to walk away.

She was at her locker after the final bell rang the next time she saw him. The hallway was empty save for a few people at the opposite end. Scully stood up straight and had just shut the door when she saw him on the other side of the door. She jumped, startled.

"Jeez, Mulder." she breathed.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." he apologized.

"It's alright." Scully picked up her bag and fell into step with him down the hall.

"Did you think anymore about what I said earlier?" he asked.

She rubbed her eyes. Scully didn't really want to tell him that all she'd been able to think about that day were his departing words from her near the lunch room. "Which part?"

His hands buried themselves in his pockets. "I think you know which part."

"Mulder, if you don't mind, I have a long walk home ahead of me and I'd like to get started." Scully tried to evade the situation. What honestly gave him the right to delve into her own personal thoughts? Right now, he was on the borderline of hot and annoying, but she wasn't sure which he was more of. She turned to walk away, but he'd caught her shoulder.

"I'll give you a ride home, but all I'm asking for is a chance." Mulder spoke softly, almost tenderly.

"A chance at what?" Scully asked, but somehow already knew.

"One date is all I ask. If you have a terrible time, just say the word and I won't bother you ever again." he held his hands up innocently.

She didn't know what to say. Dana Scully had never been asked out on a date before in all her seventeen years on Earth. Now that the opportunity presented itself, she was flabbergasted at how to handle it.

"Why?" she finally asked.

Mulder looked down into her eyes. "Can you be more specific on that 'why?'".

She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "Why me?" Scully asked under her breath.

He considered her for a fraction of a second before he took her small right hand into both of his larger ones, engulfing it between his thick fingers. "You wanna know the real reason?"

"Cut the crap, Mulder. Just tell me straight. Why me?" she repeated almost inaudibly.

"Because I believe I'm different, and I believe you're different, too. You look me in the eyes and didn't snap-judge me. You didn't write me off as a weirdo the second you saw me. And when I looked in your eyes, I didn't see someone trying to be someone they're not. I saw you, and only you." he brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it impulsively.

Scully chuckled a nervous sigh. "Sounds like you've been around the block."

He smiled. "No, I haven't, believe me. I'm just a poet and I know it." Mulder's thumb brushed over the backs of her knuckles. "Do you have an answer for me?"

She drew her bottom lip behind her teeth in thought for a moment, then motioned for him to come down closer. Leaning up into his ear, she whispered her response into it.

* * *

_**So I know this first chapter sounds really bad, and I'm sorry, but the first is always the worst with me. Please click the little button that says 'review' and let me know what you think of this. **_


	2. A Week of Worry and Wonder

_**So here we are at chapter two. I know I say this a lot and don't follow through, but I DO intend for this to be a long one. And I don't mean like my other dinkier ones. I think this might be easier for me to write because I know what goes on around me being in high school myself. Doesn't seem as hard when I'm surrounded by things so similar in reality. Happy reading XD**_

**_P.S.: When you see one of these (X) thingys, it's a page-break 'cause the doc manager doesn't like me right now. __**

_**Chapter Two:**_

"Melissa, it's me." Scully sighed into the phone, thanking her lucky stars that she'd actually caught her flighty sister without having to leave a message.

"Hey, little sis. What's up?" Her cheery voice resonated in Scully's ears. She loved her sister, but she had one of those voices that could be annoying sometimes. Kind of like fingernails on a chalkboard, she supposed.

"I…umm…I need you're advice." she tip-toed over to her bedroom door and shut it behind her. Charlie, her younger brother and all-around pain, and her parents had gone to the store some ten minutes ago or so. It gave her the privacy she needed, but shut the door as a precaution.

"You have a boyfriend." Melissa said confidently.

"Whoa, how'd you get there so fast?" Scully teased. If there was one thing her sister was good at, it was drawing information out of her younger sibling like a psychiatrist. No metaphorical teeth-pulling required.

"I'm right, aren't I?" she asked boldly.

"No, you are incorrect." Scully replied easily as she crawled up her large, full-sized bed and sat against the pile of pillows stacked at the head. "I have a date…"

"Oh, my God, my little sister's going on her first date! And it's about time! Jeez, Dana, I was dating when I was half your age." Melissa giggled on the other end.

"And why do you think you always got in trouble with Mom and Dad? And if you dare tell them about this, then I'm going to be forced to show them certain pictures from a certain frat party someone went to senior year." Scully adorned the most threatening-sounding voice she could manage.

Melissa obviously took the bait, gasping. "I told you to burn those!"

"I did…most of them." Scully might not have that much need for things like that, but she knew good blackmail material when she came across it and she knew she needed it to ensure her sister's good faith on this particular topic.

Her sister was silent for a few solid seconds. There wasn't a doubt in Scully's mind that her older sister had the biggest scowl on her face that she could ever imagine. "What do you want from me?" she finally asked irritably.

"Well, now that I have your attention…" Scully deadpanned.

"First off, I wanna hear about this guy. What's he like?"

She sighed. "He's very nice, well-mannered, above average intelligence…"

"Snore. I mean what's he look like?" Melissa clarified. She was most likely flopping down on her dorm room bed and staring up at the ceiling. Scully could tell because she was doing the in her own room even though they were several hundred miles apart.

"He's tall, like six feet, and dark. Not just his complexion or anything, but…he has this eccentric vibe, and he's mature. He has these…mysterious…hazel eyes and thick brown hair. Made of pure muscle, as far as I can tell." Scully's voice took on the semi-conscious tone.

Melissa remembered that voice all too well. She'd used it many a time when she confided in her little sister about her late-night escapades as a teenager. She had to admit, though, she'd been waiting a long time to hear it come from said sister's own mouth.

"You're totally crushing." she said.

Scully groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. "I know. What should I do?"

"What do you mean 'what should you do?' You wanna go out with him, right?" Melissa asked.

"Well…" Scully sat and thought about it, trying to weigh the pros and cons. She wanted desperately to go out on Friday night like regular teenagers did. Going to see a bad movie and late night pizza afterwards without parental advisement sounded like a dream come true.

When Scully had received her driver's license, her mother and father had set down specific rules after seeing how recklessly their first two children had acted after being allowed the same privilege. Scully remembered thinking that the guidelines were unfair because she wasn't like her brother and sister, but held her tongue. Since then, she seemed afraid to venture out of the house without their knowing. And if they didn't know where she was, she had a cell phone that she had to keep on her at all times. It was more than a little embarrassing the first time it happened in front of her friends when they were at a coffeehouse downtown. Having to be 'checked in on' wasn't ever a good thing.

"That's most of the problem, Sis. I don't know what to tell Mom and Dad. Whenever you had guys around, Dad scared them away with that icy glare of his." Scully finally responded.

"Yeah, and that's the main reason I snuck around as much as I did. You have to learn the art of the little white lie, Grasshopper." Melissa said with a very faked Chinese accent.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Like tell them you're going to the movies with Monica and you'll be back in a few hours. That way it's not a complete lie, you're at the movies, just not with Monica." Melissa was growing bored very fast with the conversation.

"What if they call her? They do things like that to me now, thanks to you and Bill and your 'fun times.'" Scully added air quotes that weren't visible through the phone and spoke sarcastically.

"You're welcome, and just ask her if she'd be willing to cover for you. I know Monica, you two are joined at the hip." she stated.

Even though Monica had a boyfriend, Scully knew it couldn't cancel out all the years of friendship the two had together. They went all the way back to the second grade when a boy pushed Scully off the swings and Monica came up and decked him for her. When he'd turned around and hit her, Scully got up and kicked him right where the sun didn't shine for a guy. They'd been best friends ever since.

"Yeah. I guess I could…" her voice trailed off, her thoughts floating to the next pressing subject. "But what should I wear?"

She could hear Melissa sit up straighter, coming to attention, "You still have your suicide jeans?"

Scully chuckled. The only pair of jeans that she had with holes at the knees she'd had to save from the garbage more times then she cared to count. Her mother was dead set against those pants to the point where she'd had to hide them from her. "Yes, I still have my suicide jeans, miraculously."

"Wear 'em. Despite what mom says, they're the best pair of jeans you own and you look great in them. I wish I didn't have to, but I gotta get to class, Danes." she said, needing to wrap up the conversation.

"Okay. I love you, Missy." Scully said in a sing-song voice.

"I love you, too, Danes. See you later."

"Bye."

She hung up the phone and sighed noiselessly. Getting up from the bed, Scully crossed her small bedroom, which was big enough for a dresser, her desk, her bed and a small nightstand, she opened her closet and took the jeans in question that remained hidden from daylight more often than not.

She smiled for no apparent reason and re-hung them and closed the door again.

_(X)_

"You love me, don't you?"

Monica Reyes head picked up out of her locker to see her best friend standing next to her, books clutched to her chest and eyes pleading.

She smiled. "You know I do, Danes, even though I'm a little ticked you blew me off in the commons yesterday…"

"I know, I'm sorry Mon. I wasn't acting like myself yesterday." Scully scratched the back of her neck in a nervous gesture.

"Apology accepted, now what do you need?" Monica zipped up her bag and shut her locker.

Scully straightened her stance. "What makes you think I need something?"

"You only ask me if I love you if you've gotten yourself into something over your head. What's up?" she asked again.

Scully sighed. "You know how my parents are overbearing control freaks?"

"No thanks to your brother and sister? Yeah, why?"

"I…I was wondering if you'd back me up on something." Scully tried to formulate an intelligent sentence in her head, but couldn't make it sound any better than the way she was feeling, which was completely girly. "I have a date."

Monica stopped dead in her tracks and Scully walked a couple more steps before she realized her companion had stopped. Wide hazel eyes locked onto Scully's bluer ones, looking for any hint of amusement in them.

"Are you serious?" she finally asked.

Scully sighed. There were serious downsides to being a wallflower, but she never expected it from Monica of all people.

Quickly realizing her mistake, Monica jumped to her side, "I'm sorry, Danes, I didn't mean that. I just wasn't expecting that. That doesn't sound good either, but…"

Scully cut her off, "I know what you meant, it's alright. I know I'm antisocial." she said.

"Well, no, but…what do you need me to do?" Monica moved away from the topic.

"I was wondering if I could meet him at your house? If my parents think I'm at your place, they won't call me like I'm a switchboard operator." she muttered.

Monica breathed in deeply. "Dana Scully! Are you going to lie to your parents?"

"Just a little white lie. Besides, it's not like I'm untrustworthy, they're just so prejudiced that I'm going to do something stupid." she stated.

"Yeah, thank your brother the next time he comes home from college, by the way." Monica joked as the two continued onto their first class of the day. "Do I get to know who this guy is?"

"No. Not yet." Scully clarified. "Not unless things get more serious, which I doubt they will."

"Why? Why can't someone fall for you?" Monica asked as they turned down the hall. It was early morning, so the route was sparsely populated.

Scully looked at the floor more than she did her. "I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that it's unlikely that it will go anywhere."

"Dana, you can't do that." Monica stated plaintively.

"Do what?" Scully asked, oblivious.

"Have such a negative attitude towards people. It's a team effort to like someone enough to go out with them again. Have an open mind about…who did you say it was again?"

"Nice try, but no, and I know I sound really negative right now. It's just…" she trailed off.

"What?" The two of them came to where their first class was. The teacher wasn't there and the door was locked, so the pair slid down to the floor outside, stretching their legs out into what would later be other people's paths.

"It…I've got this weird connection to this guy." Scully admitted.

"What do you mean 'weird'? You gotta give me a few specifics." Monica chuckled a little.

"Like when I saw him the first time, I got this…tightening in my chest and throat and…a little light-headed. And when he spoke to me, it didn't feel like I could form coherent sentences. When we did talk, it was like we were long-time friends." Scully confessed.

"Aw…my little Danes has a crush." Monica gripped her friends knee as Scully buried her face behind her hands. "Dana, going out on a date isn't that much different than going out with one of your friends. The only difference is that you're allowed to kiss said friend that you're with." she said comically.

Scully blushed and laughed, grateful for the pep talk. "Thanks Mon."

"Anytime, buddy." she pulled Scully into her arms for a hug as they saw their teacher approaching fast, wrapping up the conversation…for now.

_(X)_

_Friday Night:_

Scully stood in front of the full length mirror, examining the reflection. Going with her sister's one bit of useful advise, she had donned her knee-frayed jeans. To go with it, she'd put on her black-heeled boots and a simple white blouse to go with it, not trying to look too dressed up.

She ran her fingers through her hair, combing it out one more time. She was going to Monica's in fifteen minutes, and Mulder was picking her up there in thirty. She popped a piece of spearmint gum to calm the butterflies in her stomach. When it seemed to help, she applied a thin coat of lip gloss, being careful not to smudge.

"Where are you going tonight?" Scully jumped. Her mother lingered in the doorway, leaning up against it an watching her daughter bustle about the room.

"Monica and I were going to sit in at her place and watch movies. You know, girl stuff." Scully brushed off her inquiries. Pulling on her winter coat, she grabbed her keys and stepped around her mother, smiling at her.

"Call us when you get there. When are you coming home?" Margaret Scully followed her daughter down the stairs.

"I don't know, maybe nine or ten. I'm not sure yet." Scully grabbed her purse and gloves, wishing that her mother would allow her the leeway of a little freedom.

However, it didn't seem like that was going to happen. "If you're not going to be home by nine, you should call us, just to let us know how late you're going to be there."

"Mom, if I'm just going to be at Monica's, why do I have to call. Don't you trust me?" Scully used the typical 'trust' line that came from so many teenagers lips with such ease.

"Well, I just want to know that you're okay. Is that so wrong?" Her mother continued.

"No, but I just thought that you might have a little more faith in me than having to call every hour, on the hour." Scully debated. The song and dance of having to check in with her mom so often was getting rather old.

"Okay, you don't have to call at nine, but call when you get to Monica's." she said.

Scully thought she shouldn't even have to do that. She'd had her license for a year and knew how to drive in the snow. She'd never had anything bad happen to her and had been a homebody for practically all of her life. She thought she was trustworthy enough to go out without having to check in the with her mom.

She didn't fight the subject, but rather hugged her mother good-bye as she left.

_(X)_

"Mon? Do you think that parents are entities that have been sent here to torture their children with questions and word games that we aren't able to figure out until we become parents ourselves?"

"Too big of a question right now, Dana…and my parents let me do whatever I want."

"Thanks for rubbing it in."

"You're welcome."

Scully and Monica laughed together after she'd called her worry-wart mother to check in, saying she'd gotten to where she was going alright. Monica had thrown on her coat and the two of them sat out in the pleasant sunset to the Maryland winter day. Tomorrow would be March, the beginning of spring which would soon be followed by summer. Neither girl could wait for the warm weather to come back around.

"Hey, being as you're date's picking you up here, can I meet him anyway?" Monica tried again.

"No." Scully responded simply.

"Why?"

"Because if he's not serious about me, I don't want you going on a homicidal rampage. I never had to do that with John because he's perfect for you, but for me it might not take the same road." Scully stated philosophically.

"Danes, me and John _are_ a rare find, but don't think that it won't happen for you. Everyone has someone out there somewhere." Monica reassured her friend. "You can't close you're mind off to anyone until you get to know them and come out of your shell a little bit."

Scully rolled her eyes. She'd heard too much about 'the shell' she was in lately. Yes, she focused on her studies to a fault, but she was just tired of hearing it.

A black truck pulled up to the curb about fifteen feet away from where the girls were sitting on the front stoop. Scully picked up a handful of snow and smashed it into her friend's face, causing her to yelp and blurring her vision. She got up and headed towards the truck, running around it.

"That was just plain mean!" Monica whined.

"But entertaining. Talk to you later, Mon." Scully called out as she hopped up into the passenger seat. She looked into the dark green eyes that had taunted her all week.

"Was that something I should know about?" Mulder asked with a grin.

"Girl stuff. Nothing to worry about." Scully smiled back.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah." she sighed, more nervous than she was willing to admit.

* * *

_**So? Good? Bad? Indifferent? Please people! I love the alerts and favorites and they're all very near and dear to me, but the reviews are what I work for. XD**_


	3. A Night and Day of Firsts

_**A/N: Fun to come. I know this one's a little weird at the end, but I think this works pretty well with what I'm going for here. Hope you all like. **_

_**Chapter Three:**_

"You didn't get scared by that?"

"Not necessarily, I actually thought it looked pretty faked."

"You're kidding me."

"No, it just didn't strike me as believable."

"You're a skeptic."

"And you're a believer, obviously."

Mulder and Scully bantered back and forth, going over the movie they'd just seen. She'd told him he could pick, and they'd ended up going to see "The Fourth Kind". After, they'd gone to a nearby Pizza Hut and split a pizza and a pitcher of Mountain Dew. They were both grinning like idiots before they even knew it.

Even though they had sat in a dark theater for almost two hours, hardly even communicating, Scully felt something stir in her chest when his hand brushed against hers, then finally closed over it. Her fingers were as cold as ice, and his were warm and inviting. Torn between her thoughts and her feelings, she went on her gut instinct, which was to thread her fingers through his.

He felt the small squeeze of his hand, her small fingers fitting in the gaps between his own perfectly. Mulder had smiled to himself and went back to watching the movie, stashing the moment away in his memory.

"Okay." he put down his pizza crust and rubbed his hands together, wiping away the grease. "Favorite book?"

"Easy, _Moby Dick_." Scully replied around a sip of soda. "My dad used to read it to me all the time when he was home when I was little. Yours?"

"_Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy_. No particular reason. Your turn." he gave her the liberty to ask her own question.

"Hmm…favorite band?" she asked.

Mulder shrugged, "Too many to name. I don't really have a favorite and I dabble in almost every kind of music. What about you?"

Scully shook her head. "I don't know either. I switch too much. Right now, my favorite is Skillet."

"Really? Wouldn't have guessed that." he said.

"I know. It doesn't fit my character." she said.

"Your character is what you decide it to be." Mulder straightened in his seat.

Scully stirred the ice in the bottom of her glass and shrugged her shoulders again. "Doesn't feel like I had much choice in the matter of who I turned out to be."

He tried to meet her distant gaze. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

She sighed. "My parents never used to be as strict as they are now. My older brother and sister had a pretty free wing of anything that they did, and as a result, they got themselves into trouble without so many rules. Therefore, I am now the child that has to check in every hour, on the hour, or else I'm assumed to be doing something I'm not, which I would never do if I thought it wasn't a good idea anyway."

"Ah." he drew out the syllable for several seconds. "Is that why you were reluctant to come out with me tonight?"

"And why I asked you to meet me at Monica's house. If they think I'm there, they don't call me or expect me to call them." she said with a sad smile.

Mulder sat quiet for a few moments, trying to find the correct way to vocalize his thought. "I don't know about your parents, but I can obviously see that you _aren't_ an idiot. You're so much more mature than the other people in our class. I could see that just from sitting next to you for two minutes."

Scully blushed a bright pink, almost missing the "It's one of the things that first attracted me to you." that followed his compliment. She looked at him with disbelieving eyes and red-tinged cheeks, then quickly looked down at a cigarette burn on the table.

"You really don't take the truth well, do you?" He asked with the slightest amusement in his voice.

Scully shook her head. "I just wish I knew what you see in me." she said so quietly it almost missed his ears.

Mulder paid their bill and led her out to the truck, his hand linked with hers as he helped her up into her seat. He hadn't spoken to her with the thought in mind that what he said shouldn't be said in a restaurant. She pulled her jacket tighter to her body, trying futilely to block out the cold. He climbed into the driver's seat and took her hands into his own.

"You want to know what I see in you? To see yourself through my eyes? I see a beautiful young woman who doesn't pretend to be something she isn't. A strong-willed person who doesn't settle for anything less than perfection. A conformed little Catholic girl with a wild, rebellious side that's dying for an outlet. But even more than all those things…" Mulder paused, running his thumb over the backs of her knuckles, the action causing her to shudder at the intimate touch. "I see a girl who is hurting."

"Hurting?" she asked, still not looking at him.

"For someone who understands her. Sure, your friends understand you and are usually there to back you up, but it's not the same as having someone wrap their arms around you, sending chills down your spine, whispering that they get it into your ear and kissing your temple in support and holding on even tighter. It's just not the same." he whispered, every word he said only meant for her ears.

Scully looked at him, stunned. Mulder had taken every day-dreamed desire she'd had for the last two years, rolled them all into one, and repeated it back to her. She felt the lone tear streak down her cheek, thankfully the one that wasn't facing him.

"How do you even know that's what I feel?" she asked with a slightly cracking voice.

"Because you just told me."

She finally turned and looked into his eyes through the orange lights that illuminated the streets and Pizza Hut parking lot. There wasn't a trace of deception that she'd been able to read in those eyes that had captivated her so.

Holding her gaze, he kissed the back of the hand he'd been paying attention to before, testing the waters. Mulder leaned in a little closer, but Scully leaned away.

"There's something you should know." she said quietly. He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "I've…never…actually-"

He cut her off mid-explanation, meeting her lips with his own in a meaningful, closed-mouthed kiss full of promise. The promise of several more to come. The only thought that Scully had going through her mind was _'please, God, for once let me do something right'_.

Mulder was the one to pull back, keeping their noses touching and looking past her eyes, down into the soul that lied beneath. "And now you have." he whispered, leaning in for another.

_**(X)**_

_Saturday Morning:_

Scully twitched and rolled, still in the bliss of sleep and a wonderful dream that she was having. A small smile pulled at her lips as she did so.

She would've been in heaven if a bright, blinding light hadn't roused her to reality in the worst possible way. Scully groaned and buried her head under her pillow.

"Nope. Sorry sista. No can do, wakey-wakey eggs and bacy." Monica pushed open the curtains, letting in the intense white light from the snow on the ground and in the air outside.

"Noooo…five more minutes." Scully grumbled and buried her head under the covers.

"Nope, I need the scoop, Sweetie. I need to know what happened last night. I saw you come back for your car, but that was it." Monica sat on the side of the bed and started shaking her friend's shoulders.

"Good. It can stay that way." Scully muttered.

"Danes, that's not fair! I know you're new to this, but the first thing you do after a date is call your best friend to talk about it." she stated shrilly.

"Ugh…" Scully threw the covers off towards her friend and rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the new lighting and the blue spots on her eyes. "Fine. What is it you wanna know?" she asked.

"Everything from the beginning." Monica stated plainly and clearly, sitting up to attention.

"Fine." Scully sat up. "Last night, he came by and picked me up and we went to the movies. He asked me what I wanted to see and I said he could pick and I was fine with anything."

"Okay, what did you see?" Monica asked.

"_The Fourth Kind_, and afterward we went to Pizza Hut and had a discussion about the movie, then more about our interests and stuff." she continued.

"Did you hold hands in the theater?" Monica asked.

Scully thought about it, trying to get her mind working this early in the morning. "Yes." she admitted quietly.

Monica grinned and bounced happily next to her. "Continue." she requested after she was done.

"Well, once we started talking about more personal things, I kinda started wondering what he saw in me. When I asked him…he listed off all these things that I'd never thought of myself as before, but somewhere have been all along. And when he told me he understood, he kissed me." Scully said quietly, knowing there were ears and eyes everywhere in her house.

She handed Monica the pillow, into which she screamed. Scully laughed at her friend, but a small pang of guilt crawled into her chest. She'd fudged the facts a little about what really happened in that parking lot last night, but it didn't feel right to tell her those things. Why, she didn't know, but could only think that it was something that was meant between just her and him.

Monica recuperated as Scully got up and got dressed for the day. As if on cue, Scully's cell phone vibrated on the nightstand, making a horrible rumbling noise against the wood. Monica picked it up and read it while her friend was in the bathroom.

"Danes," she started when Scully came back, "who is Mulder and why does he want you to call him ASAP?"

She sighed. The cat was out of the bag and there was no shoving it back in now. "Fox Mulder, the guy I went out with last night." Scully stated while absently stuffing clothes into her drawers.

"Oh…" Monica replied awkwardly.

"Is there something wrong, Mon. I know you thought he was different his first day here…" Scully trailed off, still not looking at her.

"No! No, it's nothing like that, it's just some of the things people say about him." Monica tried to brush off the topic.

"I don't like what 'people say'." she stated matter-of-factly, "But what have you heard?"

Monica waved a hand in the air absently. "Just normal new-kid gossip. His parents are basically never home and he's really reclusive. Word going around right now is that he's a really good artist."

"Fifth hour: Advanced Drawing and Painting with Ms. Covarrubias." Scully said with a small smirk.

"Hey, I'm not judging, Danes, you know me better than that. I'm just telling you what I've heard. It's obviously nothing interesting." she reassured.

"I know." Scully smiled at her friend, who gave her a wide one right back.

"I'm going out to get coffee. You want me to bring you back anything?" Monica asked.

"No thanks, I'll be here when you get back." Scully smiled.

"You gonna call your '_luv-a-man'?_" she asked with breath.

Scully hushed her and shoved her out the door before anyone else heard the comment. She turned her attention to her phone and scrolled through the contacts, finding the one she was looking for. She hit the green button and laid down with it against her ear. It only rang once before she got a reply.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Mulder, it's me.'' she shivered as she said it.

"Cold, Scully?" he asked jokingly. She forced a laugh and brought one of her blankets back up around her. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about last night."

"Yeah, same here." she sighed.

"Did you…?" she could hear him struggling, but wasn't sure how to help him. "I mean, did you feel…anything?"

"Do you mean like 'sparks'?" she asked.

"Yeah." For someone who was usually so well-spoken, Mulder sounded like a toddler trying to get his point across.

"No, I didn't feel sparks." she covered her eyes with her free hand, rubbing them together again. "I felt California wildfires."

She heard the sigh of relief in his voice. "I feel the exact same way."

"How are we going to do this? We can't just pretend that last night didn't happen." she stated.

"Let me clarify something with you first: do you want to keep seeing each other?" he asked.

"Definitely." Scully didn't miss a beat.

"Okay, do you think I could see you again tonight, and maybe we could try to work this thing out?" Mulder asked.

"I think so. I'd have to be home early though. I'll have to get to bed early so I can get up on time for mass in the morning." she said.

"Alright. Can you meet me at Starbuck's anytime soon?"

Scully looked up at her alarm clock and out the window. "I can get there in thirty minutes."

"Okay. See you then." The pair hung up in perfect unison.

* * *

_**Please, my fellow fans and obsessors, the review button is right next to this statement. I pray you use it and stick around for the next chapter. XD**_


	4. In A Nutshell

_**A/N: So this one is kinda short compared to the others, and I think some of you might think this is a little OOC, but I've read it over, litterally, three times, and I think it works. You're gonna have to let me know. :)**_

_**Chapter Four:**_

The weather was exceptionally bad today. While it was calm earlier, the snow seemed endless now. It made the small Starbucks in the heart of downtown pretty sparsely populated. It was one of those days where people left the safety and warmth of their homes if, and only if, it was completely necessary.

Scully sat by the window of the small coffee shop, a Styrofoam cup warming her chilled fingertips. Savoring the heat on her tongue, she only took small sips of the caramel latte, making it last. Her mind wandered aimlessly as she stared out into the white of the streets.

Her mother had been curious when she'd told her that she was going out for coffee, saying she could make it at home. And when she told her that she was going to meet a friend, her mother then provided the excuse that she could invite them over. Yeah, that's exactly what Scully wanted to do at this point: commit potential-relationship suicide.

She'd finally managed to make it out of the house and had even beaten him there, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. Scully was torn directly down the middle on what she wanted to say to Mulder. On one hand, she knew that she was most likely better off by herself and she didn't want to hurt him when things went sour between them. But, on the other, she wanted desperately to keep seeing him. He looked into her soul and knew her problems better than she knew them herself. Even better than that, he seemed to have answers to them.

Scully still didn't know what to do when she saw the already-familiar silhouette walking through the front door. Having exactly no idea what she was going to say, she decided she was going to let him lead the conversation until she came to a decision.

He spotted her quickly and sat down across from her, not even going up to the non-existent line at the counter. "Hey."

"Hi." she said quietly.

Mulder really wanted to kiss her, to properly greet her, but could tell by the look on her face that something was going on in that beautiful mind. "Talk to me; what's on your mind?"

Her hands left her coffee cup and reached up to the back of her neck, rubbing the tension that had knotted up there and looking out the window again. "I don't know what to do about this." she finally whispered.

"Do about what?" he asked.

She sighed. "This…thing…we've got going on here."

He looked at her quizzically, "Okay, what is there to do about it?" Mulder was genuinely confused.

Scully hid her face in her hands, suddenly realizing how stupid she sounded. "I don't know."

"Hey." he reached out and covered her hands with his, much like he'd done last night in the truck. "I told you that you had the right to turn me down, should you honestly feel that way and completely hate my guts, but I have the feeling that isn't the case."

"You and your feelings." she muttered absently, finally looking him in the eyes.

Mulder smiled. "Don't knock my feelings, I'm usually right about this stuff." he reached over to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear gently, letting his hand linger on her cheek a little longer than necessary. "And the only reason I say that is because you kissed me back last night. I just always thought it was a rule that girls usually don't kiss guys they don't like."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so confused." she held his gaze, feeling herself melt under those warm, compassionate eyes.

"I'm sorry I don't believe that you yourself are confused. I believe you know what you want quite clearly, in fact. I think you're confused between what you want and what your parents want." his hand still held her face, his thumb running soothing strokes down her cheek.

"What are you, a shrink?" she smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled, "No, but I've considered it as a career. That's beside the point though."

Scully breathed a heavy sigh. "Yes, okay? You're the only guy who's ever even pretended to pay attention to me for five minutes. You're sweet, caring, and you get me. I just don't want to expose myself to the thought of getting hurt if this doesn't work out." her last statement wasn't meant to have left her lips, but it did anyway.

He met her eyes straight on as he spoke, wiser than his years, "The main problem with what you just told me is that if you don't open yourself up to getting hurt, there can be no true joy or happiness. To put that in someone else's hands, knowing that they _can _hurt you, should they choose to, but don't, it makes you even happier that they won't do that to you. Not because they can't, but because they don't want to." he broke eye contact with her and mumbled something at the end Scully couldn't hear.

"What was that last part?" she asked in a constricted voice. Somewhere during his speech, she lost her ability to breathe.

"Like me." he repeated without looking at her. Scully felt his hand slipping away from her face, but she caught it and held it in place. Taking a risk, she placed a kiss to the inside of his wrist.

Something didn't feel right, though. She could tell by the way his entire body stiffened, and the feel of his skin under her lips. Realization struck her like a lightning bolt as she looked him dead in the eye. She was about to ask when his index finger covered her lips, silencing her.

"Follow me back to my place if you want to hear that story, it's not something I like to talk about in public." Mulder got up and walked away, back out into the cold, with Scully on his heels.

_**(X)**_

Scully followed him in her black Impala back to Mulder's fancier-than-most house. It was a large old brownstone she remembered admiring as a child. If he would have told her it was her dream house, she could've found it just as easily as she had followed him here.

She pulled into the driveway behind him even though the space beside him was vacant. She cut the engine and hopped out. He stood beside his own truck, waiting for her to come and hold his hand as they went up to the house together, neither saying a word.

They got inside and he took her coat, offering her something to drink in the process. When she declined, he sighed and shucked out of his own jacket, hanging both of them up in the hallway closet while she looked around.

It was a typical, upper-middle class home with hardwood floors and leather furnishings. Rich, deep reds were the color scheme (in the living room, at least) except for the large, black, baby-grand piano that faced out into the room. She brushed her fingers over the well-polished lid, deducing it was a Baldwin. It wasn't cheap.

"Do you play?" Mulder asked as she continued appreciating the craftsmanship.

"Yeah, mandatory requirement for the Scully children." she said absently. "I would much rather hear that story now, though, if you still want to share."

"There's not much to say about it. I used to…and now I don't." he stated plaintively, and even Scully could tell that he was sore on the subject.

"It's just…what happened?" she asked.

He flopped down on the couch and stared at the ceiling as he spoke. "My dad started working more and more, and my mom's around less and less…I felt rejected."

Scully perched on the edge of the couch, holding her hand out for his. Mulder was reluctant, but eventually held out his hand. She drew it gently closer to her, as if the area were still sore.

At first she gasped, then felt all of the air in her lungs leave her in a deep shudder. Tears automatically sprung up to her eyes as she inspected the damage. Random singular-line shaped scars, healed over and over again from reopening, donned his wrist like Freddy Krueger had come in the middle of the night to make him bleed. Scully ran a finger over the sensitive area.

"I don't do it anymore, Scully. Things just got bad for a little while and…" he sighed, never having to explain this before. "I needed an outlet."

She didn't look at him, but brought his wrist up to kiss it again and brought his palm to rest against her cheek again. When Scully did finally open her eyes again, they were darkened with knowledge of knowing his own pain.

Mulder sat up, getting ready to explain himself more, when Scully wrapped her lean arms around his torso. Surprised at first, he mimicked the action after a few seconds. She leaned up to whisper into his ear, much like she had the first day they met.

"_That _isn't your 'outlet' anymore. When you hurt, I hurt, and same goes vice versa, I'm pretty sure. When you've got something bothering you, you can talk to me. Talking helps, I found out recently." she spoke quietly and clearly, then brought her head back down to his chest to listen to his heartbeat underneath the skin.

He couldn't say anything, he was so stunned. All he could do was close his eyes and pull her into him closer.

_**(X)**_

Scully walked into the foyer of her own home a few hours later. She and Mulder had ended up falling asleep on the couch curled up together. Despite how awkward it was when they woke, it was definitely the best nap she could ever remember taking.

Hanging her coat up in the closet, she felt so good that she didn't even hear her mother come up behind her. "Where were you?" she asked.

Scully hit her head on the bar of the small coat rack of the claustrophobic closet. She winced in pain as she came around to face her mother. "I was with a friend."

"Why didn't you answer your phone? I tried calling you five times." she carried on.

"It died when we were in the coffee house." she stated as she went to the kitchen.

"Dana, you know that you're not supposed to leave the house unless that phone has a completely full battery." Margaret Scully reprimanded her daughter. That tore something in Scully's brain. "Mom, I don't get this! Why don't you trust me enough to just hang out with people?"

"It's not a matter of trusting you, Dana! It's a matter of trusting the people you're around. I called Monica and you weren't with her." she stated pragmatically.

"And that's another thing! Why do you have to call my friends and interrogate them like they're criminals?" Scully asked as she started scrubbing the dishes that had been piled up in the sink from lunch, which she missed.

"I don't know that they're good people unless I talk to them, Dana." she said quietly.

"And, obviously, you don't trust me, because if you did, you'd trust my own judgment of the people that I choose to have around me." Scully reasoned, and turned slightly to face her mother. "I'm not Bill, Mom, nor am I Melissa. I'm Dana, and I like to think that I have better judgment and willpower than they did at my age."

At first, Maggie was offended at her daughter's accusations, but then decided to just drop the subject altogether.

* * *

_**Dun, dun, dun... **_

**_Now most of you probably wouldn't put him in that category, but I needed something to make him imperfect at this point. Whereas he's been so idyllic, Mulder needed something to make him less of a fantasy figure in this little world. _**

**_What I need from you guys is to talk to me. Leave me suggestions, and, if not, feedback. I really need to know if I'm bombing or not. XD_**


	5. Revelations and Repercussions

_**A/N: So, I'm thinking you guys are either going to love this or hate this. I'm hoping for the first one, but it's up to you to decide. As always, I don't own the characters or X-Files, just the story in which they live.**_

_**Chapter Five:**_

_Sunday Afternoon:_

"I need to see you." the disembodied voice said.

After church, Scully did what she normally did on Sundays, which was change into sweats and studied for class. Now that it was about two o'clock and she was taking a little break, her cell phone rang. Recognizing the number, she had answered quickly.

"Aw, that's sweet, you can't go without seeing me for a whole day." she teased innocently, pulling her knees up as she curled onto her bed.

"With how beautiful you are? Not a chance. Can I pick you up somewhere?" he said somewhat excitedly.

"Um…" Scully thought a moment. "Do you know where the corner of Larson and 8th is?"

"Yeah." he replied.

"Can you meet me there in twenty?"

"No problem. See you then."

Scully hung up and changed into jeans and white v-neck sweater. She combed down her haphazard hair and brushed her teeth, knowing she was going to have bad breath from that Monster energy drink she allowed herself earlier. Deciding not to fix up too much, she applied a thin coat of chap stick with no other make-up. Mulder seemed to be into the more natural look.

When she descended the stairs, both her mother and father looked up, not used to seeing her out of her bedroom until more around five. Charlie seemed content to waste his Sunday afternoon playing violent video games. Sure, Scully couldn't leave the house without telling someone, but her brother could come home and kill fake people on a television screen after going to mass. Something wasn't right with _that_ picture.

"What's wrong, Starbuck?" her father, who was a lot more lenient on the rules than her mother, but not much, looked at her with curious eyes.

"Nothing, I'm just going out." she said as she wrapped her scarf around her neck.

"Oh, okay. Have fun." Bill Scully told his daughter happily and went back to the book that was in his hands.

'_Oh, if it were only that simple, Ahab.' _Scully thought to herself.

Of course, her mother shot her father a dirty look, then followed her daughter to the front door. "Where are you going, hon?"

'_And there it is.' _"To a friend's house. He said he has something to show me." Scully winced after she said it. That had sounded SO much better in her head.

"'He?' Who is _he?_" she asked. As far as she knew, Scully didn't have any guy friends other than John Doggett, and that was only because he was Monica's boyfriend. She didn't know her own daughter was well on her way to having her own.

"He's new in town and he sits next to me in Chemistry. We made friends." Scully reasoned quickly. She had given Mulder the corner around the block and she needed to start walking.

"What's his name?" Maggie asked.

"Why, so you can track him down and start calling him? That's quite alright, Mom." Scully still wasn't completely thrilled with the way her mother had just dropped their discussion when it got interesting. She pulled on her coat and began working on her boots.

"Dana, why have you been so distant lately? This isn't you." she said, apparently striking up a new way to dance around the topic.

"Mom, this is the way I've always been. Just because I've been hanging out with my friends lately doesn't mean that I've changed any. It just means I've stopped being such a hermit." Scully kept her tone in a mutter.

Her father got up and walked over to the squabbling women. "Maggie, don't be so nosy. Let her have a life. You go, Starbuck, and have a good time." her father said again.

"Thanks Ahab. See you later." Scully said and ran out the door before her mother had anything more to say on the subject. She honestly did love her mother, but lately things seemed to be getting worse between them.

She jogged around the corner and saw a dark red truck parked several feet back from the stop sign. The smiling face of it's occupant had Scully jogging again, not afraid of the icy sidewalk for once. She finally made it after what felt like forever.

"Hola, Senorita." he joked as she pulled herself into the gas-guzzling vehicle.

"Hey." she breathed once she got settled. Scully had just taken her first good look at him after she'd gotten her seatbelt on. "Nice glasses." she took in his eyewear.

"I could say the same to you." She reached up and realized she still had her own glasses on. In her rush to get out of the house she obviously forgot to take them off. Having nowhere to put them, Scully left them in place.

"I only really need them for reading. My head starts to spin if I don't use them." She clarified.

"Same here." Mulder smiled and took his own off, tossing them gently up onto the dashboard. He pulled away from the curb slowly and started heading for his own neighborhood that was across town.

"So where are we going? What is it you want to show me?" she asked with a sly smile.

He gave her one of his own. "You ask too many questions. We'll be there soon enough anyway."

Scully shrugged and looked out the window. The fresh blanket of snow that had fallen yesterday had been cleared off the roads, but still lingered in the yards of those who hadn't gotten out to shovel it away yet. "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train filled the cab of the truck with a cheery disposition as she leaned her forehead on the window with a smile.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Mulder asked as he pulled into his driveway several minutes later.

"No thoughts, just…just happy." she responded, a little surprised at her own words.

He simply smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he led her into the house. They went through the same process of removing coats and boots as they had the day before.

"So what is this big mysterious thing you have to show me?" Scully asked again, her curiosity building.

"Sorry Scully, I don't show ladies that." he slung his arm around her again.

"What? What are you…" it took her a minute to put two and two together. "Oh, good God, Mulder." she gave him a well-deserved smack to the back of the head at his lame attempt at a dirty joke. He simply laughed.

They went through the kitchen where, in the back of her mind, Scully thought her mother would've killed for. Large granite countertops with more than a dozen hardwood cupboards and stainless steel appliances. A large window centered over the sink looked out into the backyard where there was a large weeping willow tree that would bloom come springtime.

She turned her attention back to Mulder, who was fumbling with a key ring, jamming one of the keys into the lock and turning it. She couldn't help but wonder why he was taking her down into the basement.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"Questions, questions." he mumbled mostly to himself as he opened the door with a creak. Mulder led her down the dark stairs, and Scully felt like she was going down into a crypt. Once they'd reached the bottom of the stairs, she felt two hands clamp down over her eyes.

"Don't open them until I tell you to, okay?" he asked.

"Sure." she drew out the syllables, wondering what was going on.

Even though she couldn't see him in the dark and her covered eyes, she could tell there was a smile on his face. Light streamed through his fingers suddenly. Scully tried to peek through them, but didn't get a good enough look before he closed them up.

"Aw, come on." she said under her breath, accidentally.

"Getting a little impatient?" Mulder joked.

She folded her arms and pouted her lips enough for him to notice.

"Alright, alright, I'll show you, but can you promise me something before I do?" he leaned his forehead against her hair.

"Of course. You can trust me, Mulder." her voice softened.

"It's something I've been doing for years, so can I ask you not to make a big deal out of it?" he asked quietly.

"Depends on what it is, I'm not sure if I can keep that promise." she said honestly.

He chuckled and removed his hand from her eyes. Scully opened her eyes to the basement he'd been hiding from her vision.

Ironically, the one word she couldn't imagine using to describe the room they were in was _basement._ The walls were painted a deep, burgundy color, but it was hardly discernable. Said walls were covered with every kind of picture imaginable, all presumably drawn and/or done by the man who'd brought her here.

Along the far wall was a large worktable that looked like it belonged in a high-end auto shop, littered with mediums of materials. A large, paint-spattered stereo sat in the one corner of the table next to the rows of different colored lava lamps. A drawing table with a built-in lamp was not far away on the adjacent wall.

Both of those only took up the far corner of the room, however. Centered in the middle of the right wall was a large king-sized bed. Facing it on the opposite wall was a seemingly even larger flat-screen television.

"Is this your bedroom?" Scully finally asked.

"Yeah." he said casually and plunked down onto his bed. Scully was more drawn to the pictures that covered his walls.

"Did you do all of these?" she reached out to touch one of the charcoal sketches that had been haphazardly tacked to lone bulletin board that was to the side of the TV.

"Yep, and you'll want to be careful with those." he pointed to the one she was touching. "Those haven't been sprayed."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"They're gonna smudge all over you're pretty little fingers." he shot her a toothy grin.

Scully took her hand back to see the black marks that tipped her fingers. "Nice." she muttered.

"Sorry about that." Mulder gave her a look that gave her the feeling he was laughing at her in his mind. She met his eyes as he patted the empty spot next to her on the bed. "Come here."

Scully laughed nervously and shook her head. "That's alright, I'm fine."

He'd heard the anxiety in her voice. Mulder was pretty sure at that point that she'd never been in a guy's room before, and his was anything but typical. "I won't bite." he reassured, then on a second thought, "…much."

She gave him a genuine chuckle that time, and did finally sit down next to him, figuring his intentions were honorable.

Mulder reached for one of the sketchbooks from the stack on the nightstand. It was a red leather-bound one that looked almost antique to her eye. It did have it's fair share of use over the years.

"This is gonna look really stalker-ish, but let me just defend myself by saying I have a photographic memory, which I do." he held the book like it was a heavy weight in his hands.

"What are you talking about?" she asked in her most non-threatening tone.

He looked back down and set the book in her lap, motioning for her to leaf through it. Scully looked to him, down to the book, and then back up to him again. He ran a hand down her back, sending chills down her spine, when she finally opened the cover.

Inside, every page for about ten pages in had etched in it the face of a beautiful girl, about sixteen or seventeen, with gorgeous light eyes and short, neatly-trimmed hair. The girl's slightly pouted lips and soulful eyes said she was saddened by something or emotionally hurting. Even the beautiful silver dress she was in couldn't seem to take away her pain.

"Who is she?" Scully asked in amazement. She'd seen her friend's sketchbooks who were in art class for the credit, but she'd never really seen someone who spent time and patience with their drawings first-hand.

"Take a wild guess." he said as he scooted closer to her, resting his head against the top of hers.

She looked at the girl one final time before she closed the book and handed it back to him. "It's not, so don't say it is. I know it. You don't have to lie."

"What?" he looked at her as she stepped away from him, drawing her thumbnail between her teeth and biting it gently. "What do you mean, Scully?"

"You're going to say it's me, and I know it's not." she looked back at him with a new anxious look on her face, one that was on the borderline of fear. Another nervous laugh. "The girl in that picture is too beautiful to be real." Scully whispered.

Mulder considered her words for a minute, then started laughing, really laughing, himself.

"What's so funny?" she asked, so nervous by now she wanted to throw up, but she couldn't do that in front of him. Little too gross a little too early kind of thing.

He got up to close the distance between them. "You are such an angel." he whispered before he pulled her into his arms and kissed her with everything he had.

Scully fumbled a moment at how quickly the moment happened, then melted against him. The emotion seemed to radiate off of him as Mulder held her so innocently to him. And when his tongue slid across her bottom lip, tasting the berry flavored lip balm, she visibly shuddered.

This was all so new to her. Before this weekend, Scully had never been on a date, kissed, or even held by a guy that wasn't related to her. On top of all of that, there was still the fact that this weekend was the first time that she defied her mother. The thought crossed her mind at the wrong time, though, and caused her to pull away from the one place she felt like she belonged.

She instantly regretted it when she saw the look on his face. Scully pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, willing herself to stop thinking. She sat down on the stairs in order for her world to stop spinning.

"If it bothers you that much, Scully, I won't do it anymore. I didn't mean to upset you. And you're right, she's not you. She's a poor caricature of you. She's not even half as beautiful as you are." Mulder was quick to apologize to something that really didn't mean all that much to her at the moment.

"It's not that." she said sullenly.

He kneeled down in front her, "Then what's wrong? Hey." Mulder pulled her hands away from her eyes, forcing her to look at him. His hands returned to their place on the sides of her neck. "Talk to me."

She tried to avert her eyes, but he wasn't having it. Conceding, she told him. "I've become a rebel."

He would've laughed if she didn't have such a sadness in her eyes. "What exactly does the word 'rebel' entail for you?"

"I've lied to my parents about going on a date, I've been kissed, I lied to them before and after I came home with you yesterday. I'm deceptive." she stated directly into his eyes.

"You don't have to lie if you don't want to." Mulder reassured.

"How do I get out to see you then? My parents aren't like yours, Mulder. Your parents have faith in you, and mine treat me like I'm a gun ready to go off. 'Check in every hour. Don't do drugs. Let me call your friends and see if they're good people.'" she mimicked the lines she'd been hearing since middle school.

"Mine don't necessarily trust me, they're just too busy with their own lives to ever be home. But in your case, I think you need to be honest with them, or they're never gonna lighten up if they think you're lying to them." he stated calmly, then thought for a second. "That is…unless you're embarrassed by me or something."

There was some instinct deep inside Scully's mind that made her pull him into a kiss of her own desire. Long and slow, and when she ran out of breath, she pulled his head into rest against her chest. "I don't think that's possible." Scully breathed into his hair, the spiky strands tickling her nose, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

He smiled a little in relief. "You might feel better if you talk to them, then. Tell them about us and whatever you consider me as in your life."

"You say it like it's a bad thing." she stroked the small hairs on the back of his neck.

"I don't mean it like that, but…I'd like to consider you my girlfriend." he looked up at her with hopeful smile.

She smiled faintly, "Funny, I considered you my boyfriend since the night you kissed me."

_**(X)**_

Scully looked at herself in the mirror a few hours later. She'd changed back into her sweats and was gathering up the courage to talk to her mother. She knew the actual thought of talking about it was scarier than just doing it, but it didn't shake the fact she still thought about it.

Breathing in a sigh, she forced her feet to carry her out of her bedroom and down the stairs, Her mother was sitting at one end of the couch, channel surfing to no avail.

"Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?" Scully tapped her toes to the floor in a nervous gesture.

Margaret Scully sat up straight, scooting further down the couch to make room for her daughter. "Sure honey. What is it?" she hid her excitement well. Scully never really wanted to sit down and talk with her.

Scully looked at her mom's giant smile and was suddenly unsure what to say. "Okay…I'm not really sure how to say this." she picked absently as a fingernail.

Maggie's first instinct was to ask her daughter if she was pregnant, but decided against that. "What is it, honey?"

"I, ugh…I'm seeing someone." Scully said vaguely.

Her mother's ears shot up like a German Shepherd who was being taunted with a bone. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Scully bit her right cheek, not knowing what to expect.

Maggie went quiet, not sure how to respond. The last thing she was expecting her daughter to say was that she was seeing somebody. "Who is he?" she finally asked.

"I don't think you know him. His name's Fox Mulder and he's new in town." Scully smiled just thinking about him.

"I think I'd remember somebody named Fox."

Both women laughed in unison. Scully just started to feel better about talking to her mother when she had to go and add something that threw her off.

"So when are you inviting him over?"

Scully's heart stopped beating and she felt the blood drain out of her face. "I-I-I don't know." she stuttered.

"How about Wednesday night? Missy and Bill are coming home on Tuesday, so the timing's great to meet the whole family." Maggie got up and left the room, obviously going to plan.

Scully sat there another minute, a little shell-shocked, then looked up and said to no one, "Do you have it in for me up there or something?"

* * *

_**So, yeah. I made Mulder the misunderstood artist figure, but I think he suits it. He's reclusive and dark and mysterious, which is all pretty true in the show. **_

**_And yes, I'm figuring next chapter it's "Meet The Scully's" time. Anybody gonna stay tuned? You wanna see it, you gotta review!_**


	6. Meet The Scullys

_**A/N: So I know this update has taken FOREVER to get up, but it's ridiculously long, so it evens out. My beta, Coilerfan35, is trying to get me to go back to the world of "Bones" fanfics. I'm going to try to write for both, but this chapter was calling to me to write.**_

**_THERE IS SOME SAD STUFF IN HERE! You know, teenage angst and all. I'm a teenager, so I hope I write it well enough. There is also some really touching stuff too, so please READ AND REVIEW! XD_**

_**Chapter Six:**_

_Monday:_

Mulder walked the hallways of school with a newfound happiness. It was almost impossible for him to drop the smile that seemed permanently etched into his mouth. At the moment, he was on his way to his new favorite class: second period Chemistry.

As he passed people in the hallways, he got the lingering glances and the whispers that he'd expected. Gossip traveled like wildfire no matter what, but it seemed faster than the speed of light when someone didn't necessarily want the attention. Mulder couldn't have cared less. People would talk no matter what and there wasn't much to be done about it.

Everyone stopped and stared at him when he came into class, but there was only one person he had his eyes on. The gorgeous red-head doodling absent-mindedly in her notebook. Mulder set his backpack down next to him and kissed the top of Scully's head, confirming their peers suspicions as they all gasped and turned around.

"You've been getting those looks then too, huh?" Mulder sighed as he picked her hand off the table and kissed the back of it, assuming the role of a gentleman.

"Hmm?" Scully looked at him for the first time since he walked in. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm not all here."

"What's up?" he asked, not letting her have her hand back.

"Nothing, it's just…" she pulled her black wool sweater tighter around her, trying to fight off the chill the room emanated. "What are you doing Wednesday night?"

"Free as a bird and I'm going to ask 'What's up?' again and this time you're gonna tell me." he flashed her a charm smile.

"Do you want to come to my place Wednesday night for dinner? Please say no." she said in a rush.

He laughed at her. "Can I ask you why you don't want me to come?"

Scully rubbed at her eyes, the lack of sleep evident on her face. "It's not that I don't want you to come. It's just I thought I had more mental preparation time before you met my entire family." she rested her head on one of her arms to face him.

"Entire family?" he asked, the calm and cool not even faltering in his voice.

"Mom, Dad, Bill, Melissa, Charlie, and I hope you already know me a little bit." she said with a small smile on her lips. "Are you going to be uncomfortable with it or…"

"No, don't worry about it. I can't wait to meet them." he reassured her and brought her hand up to rest against his cheek. Mulder's mind went blank and his eyes closed at the touch of her soft pale skin.

"Trust me, you _can_ wait." she rested her head on her other palm as the bell rang.

He chuckled at her a little, but felt the uneasiness bubble up in his stomach.

_**(X)**_

_Wednesday, 6:45 p.m._

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"

Mulder looked up at Scully, the uncertainty apparent in her eyes. She'd been trying for days to convince her mother that it was too soon for something like this, but there wasn't much room for debate on a topic when Margaret Scully had made up her mind. When she failed at badgering her mother, she badgered Mulder. He, however, seemed somewhat excited to meet her family.

They sat in his truck in her driveway, spending a last few fleeting moments alone together. Scully had felt like her she had a cinderblock in her stomach all day. Placed in a predicament she'd never experienced before, she felt like a fish out of water. Mulder was so many firsts for her. Her first date, first kiss, first boyfriend, and now the first boy she brings home to her family all within the course of two weeks was a lot to take in.

Like a sixth sense, he seemed to tune into her discomfort, knowing what she was thinking by the way one arm held herself while the other rubbed at her eyes. He took the small hand that was trying to rub her eyes out of her head and enveloped it with both of his.

"Your hands are freezing." he commented, trying to lighten her mood.

Scully couldn't help but chuckle. "That doesn't really matter right now."

He linked his her fingers with him, warming the icicles. "I know you're worried, but I have to do this."

"No, you don't. I can tell them you're sick or something. It's no big d-" she was silenced by his lips in a fast, fiery kiss. He pulled back as quickly as he'd initiated it, fearing the wandering eyes that might be watching them, but it still left her breathless.

Mulder kept his nose touching hers, "Yes, I do. I have a theory about what's going on here."

"Do you?" she asked when she found her voice again.

"If I'm right, they wanna see if I'm going to be intimidated and chicken out. To see if I'm serious about their baby girl." he smiled at the last part.

She met his intense eyes and the smile in them. "Are you trying to prove something to them or to me?"

"A little of both." Mulder separated their hands and brought his up to rest against her cheek. "We might want to get in there before they think something's going on out here."

Scully rolled her eyes, "Knowing my mother and my sister, that's the first thing they'll think too."

"Call it a character flaw." Mulder smiled as he got out and ran around the truck to open her door, the slowly-evolving weather making everything around them wet and muddy.

The too-short walk to the front door did anything but calm Scully's nerves. When she reached out to unlock the door, key in hand, she pulled him down to give him one final hug and whispered "You're a brave man, Fox Mulder." in his ear before she led him into the torture chamber.

He stepped into the warm foyer of the Scully home and was greeted with the heady scents of hazelnut and cinnamon. "What smells so good?" he asked her.

Scully didn't turn from hanging up the coats. "Cappuccino and apple pie: the two things Scullys must always have for family and company." she kicked the closet door shut and took his hand in hers in support.

"It can't be as bad as you think it is." he smiled a little, wishing he could wipe away the gloom-and-doom look on her face.

"Mulder, I've seen the Scully Inquisition first-hand." she finally smiled, even if it was a little sarcastically.

As if on cue, Margaret Scully appeared from almost nowhere, running her eyes over Mulder curiously. "Hi, you must be Fox. I'm Margaret Scully, Dana's mother."

"Mrs. Scully, a pleasure to finally meet you." Mulder shook her hand with his free one, a genuine smile on his face. "Dana's told me so much about you."

"All good, I hope?" she asked with a smile.

"Of course." He nodded, and Scully had to hide a grin.

Maggie's smile seemed to be permanently etched onto her face. It was something that Scully had seen before whenever Melissa had brought home a boy. The creepy look that had people wondering if she was sane or not. Her eyes were focused on the arm that was draped around her daughter's shoulders, but neither made an effort to move under her gaze.

"Well, the great divide has taken place already between the men and women. Dana, do you want to show Fox around before he meets everyone?" Maggie asked Scully so slowly it sounded like she was hard of hearing.

Scully was hesitant, "Who is 'everyone', Mom? I just thought it was going to be us and Missy and Bill." she inquired lightly.

"Well, I invited Caroline and James, too. They are family." she smiled and turned around, heading back to the kitchen.

Mulder looked down at Scully. Her hand rubbed at her eyes as she stepped out of reach. The headache was already settling down behind her neon-green orbs, something she hadn't expected until later in the evening.

"What's wrong?" Mulder asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Scully didn't speak as she walked soundlessly to the staircase. She crooked her finger behind her, motioning for him to follow her. The last thing she needed right now was for her parents to hear what she had to say at that moment.

Mulder followed her obediently like a puppy following its master. He already knew he would follow her to the ends of the Earth, should she ask him to.

He inspected the framed photographs on the walls as they passed by on the ascension up the stairs. Childhood photos, most of which were of her siblings. Scully's brothers and sister at sporting events and family vacations, but none of them seemed to have Scully herself in them.

She slipped into a dark room down the hallway a little and held the door open just enough to let him squeeze in. When he did, Scully backed him up into the door and wrapped her arms around him. Mulder had just been able to return the favor when her lips crashed into his in a heated, frantic kiss. It was only a few seconds long, but it would have to hold them over with what little time they had before someone came looking for them.

"I'm so, so sorry about this." Scully mumbled into his neck. "I had no idea she was inviting them."

"Who are them?" the dark cloud cover that hung outside the windows did nothing to bring about the glow Mulder hadn't seen around her for days. It made him want to hold her until it finally came back, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to be until after tonight was over with that it would even be possible.

"Caroline and James are my aunt and uncle who are about the nosiest people you would ever meet anywhere. They have two bratty kids, one my age and one Charlie's, and they're even worse. By the way, her name's Caitlyn and she's going to try to hit on you." Scully briefed him as fast as she could on the family members she would rather not call family.

Mulder smiled at the thought and brought his hands to massage her shoulders. "Sweetheart, slow down, you are way too tense." he stated.

She breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. Scully couldn't think of herself being anything but tense at that moment. Her house was full of family that was waiting to meet him, someone she'd only known herself for little more than a week. But as his slightly roughened hands worked miracles at the base of her neck, she wanted just another minute alone with him.

Knowing this was impossible, she pulled him away from the door just as someone came barging in. It was a sixth sense Scully had developed living in a house where nothing in it was private.

"Dana, where the hell have you…oh…" Mulder instantly got the feeling this was Caitlyn who'd just intruded on them. The girl smelled like cigarettes and perfume and she sported a hot pink skirt that was most likely illegal in most states. She was looking him over like a piece of meat before she held out her hand expectantly. "I'm Caitlyn, Dana's cousin."

"Fox Mulder, a pleasure." he stated quietly, but politely. Scully looked at his expression and, even in the darkness, knew he was thinking something. What was a completely different question.

Caitlyn turned her gaze on Scully who held her place in Mulder's arms. "Dana, why didn't you tell me you had such a hunk under your spell? That is…even if you had a spell."

Scully shrugged a little and stepped closer into him, knowing all too well what her despicable relative was capable of. "I didn't tell anyone and we've only been together for a week." _'Damn, why'd I say that?'_ she thought with a slight wince.

Her eyebrows shot up. "A week? That's all?"

"Caitlyn, was there a reason that you came up here?" Scully asked with fake enthusiasm.

She sighed. "Aunt Maggie wants your help in the kitchen. In the meantime, I could keep your man entertained." Caitlyn twirled a lock of hair around her finger and popped her gum.

Mulder and Scully looked at each other knowingly, then looked back at her. "I'm sorry, I'm not into that kind of entertainment." he stated and led Scully out of the room, a flabbergasted Caitlyn on their heels.

_**(X)**_

Scully had planned on not leaving Mulder's side all night. She didn't want him to become the victim of an inquisition and knew such a thing wouldn't happen in her presence. Her mother was relentless when it came to boys and her daughters. She didn't trust them, not after a few thing Melissa did, and was bound to treat them to a night they'd never forget.

Mulder had followed her into the kitchen where she was summoned to. Three women were huddled around the large island counter that was square in the middle of the space. One he knew was Margaret, but could only guess the identities of the other two. He'd guessed that they younger one with reddish brown hair was Melissa Scully and the other Caroline Scully.

"Well, hello." Melissa said with a large, almost Cheshire Cat-like smile. "I'm Melissa Scully, Dana's sister. You must be Fox."

"Please, I even make my parents call me Mulder." he said with an honest smile. Scully smiled too, but the that knotted ball of muscles at the back of her neck were as solid as before.

Caroline had a similar introduction to herself, her hand lingering in his a little longer than what would be considered necessary.

The two women left the kitchen, leaving the couple alone if only for a few brief minutes. Mulder came up behind her and took the knife she'd been using from her. "Sit." he ordered.

Scully turned around to look at him. "Why?"

"If you keep walking around with that cantaloupe of a knot at the base your skull, you're not going to be able to turn your head for days." he reasoned.

"Mulder, I'm fine." she protested even as he directed her to one of the barstools.

He smiled as she sat down and realized he was still taller than her, even with the boost. "Sorry, hon, I'm not likely going to watch you suffer if I can do something about it."

His fingers skittered over her shoulders, down her arms and back to the space where her neck and shoulders met. Putting a little strength in behind his touch, Mulder gently massaged at the knots he felt at the top of her spine.

Scully breathed in sharply and arched her back slightly. She didn't realize how much pain she was in until he started working out the tension that had built up all day. Exhaling with a small moan, Scully allowed herself a rare moment where she didn't think about anything but the feel of his hands through the cotton of her shirt.

He smiled, happy to finally see her relaxing, despite how short the moment would probably last. Increasing the pressure a bit more, Mulder felt her breathing in time with his attentions.

The moment didn't last long, as expected, as the Scully parade of women came through to the kitchen again. Taking in the sight, Caitlyn frowned while the adults looked on with surprise.

"How much do you charge?" Melissa joked.

Mulder smiled at her, liking his girlfriend's sister already, as Scully buried her flushed face in her hands. "Your sister's a little tense."

"Are you kidding, she's a walking worry-wart." Melissa continued in a playful voice.

"Thanks, Missy. I love you, too." Scully mumbled as she got back to what she was doing.

"Aw…you know I only torment you out of love, Danes." she came up and hugged her sister in a suffocating embrace.

"All right, you two." Maggie pried her older daughter off her younger one. "It's time to eat."

_**(X)**_

Despite Scully's insistence that her parents were the master interrogators that they were, dinner went rather smoothly. There wasn't the whole onslaught of questions that she'd seen happen to Melissa's past beaus, and she was grateful to her family.

That is, until after dinner was over. Scully was expecting the Nazis her parents could be to come out sooner or later. It was just a matter of time.

Everyone had filed out of the dining room and sat around the coffee table. The adults took the couch and chairs while the adolescents took to the floor across from them. Scully sat in between Mulder and Caitlyn while Robert, her other cousin, and Charlie sat on the other side of her.

A thought crossed Scully's mind that it looked like they were facing a Supreme Court: everyone in front of them there to pass judgment on one person particular person in front of them. She shook her mind free of the thought, but knew the only thing she could do was bring his arm up around her shoulders and weave her fingers together with his own.

Once again, however, it didn't seem to be as bad as she thought it would. They only asked simple questions about family and friends. Nothing about his intentions with Scully, nothing about STDs, and she was actually starting to not worry anymore.

That is, until her brilliant cousin piqued in with her two cents.

"What is that on your wrist?" Caitlyn tried to push his shirt sleeve up a bit to get a better look. Scully pulled his arm tighter around her and gave her a dirty look.

Caitlyn's eyes tripled in size and pointed at Mulder, "Oh, my God! You're a c-"

Scully's hands clamped her cousin's mouth shut, a mixture of fear and anger in her eyes. "You wanna finish that statement?" she seethed.

"Dana! What's wrong with you?" Maggie reprimanded her daughter. "What were you going to say, Caitlyn?"

She looked at Scully, who was looking at her with pleading eyes. Caitlyn might have thought for a second to keep the revelation to herself, but she wasn't one to keep things to herself. Shrugging at Scully, she looked her coldly in the eye with a smile and announced, "He's a cutter!"

"No, he isn't!" Scully fired back.

"Then how do you explain _this_?" she pushed Mulder's sleeve up forcefully, exposing the scars that resided there.

Mulder took his wrist back, a defeated look on his face as he rested his elbows on his knees. Scully noticed the far away look on his face and wrapped her arms around him, tears in her eyes, and didn't care what the people around her thought.

Both of Scully's parents just looked on confused. "What do you mean 'a cutter'?" Maggie asked.

Caroline spoke up, "It means just that, Maggie. He cuts himself on purpose."

"Not anymore!" Scully sobbed into his hair.

Mulder wrapped an arm around her and pulled her down into his lap, past caring about propriety. "It's alright, Scully. It's alright."

"No, it's not. It's not alright." Scully sniffled and buried her face into his sweater.

All eyes in the room were focused on them, but no one made any attempt at consolation. Everyone seemed paralyzed except for one audience member.

"So…why'd you do it?" Caitlyn looked on with a bright smile.

That tore something in Scully's brain and she lunged for her soulless relative, murder in her eyes. Mulder felt the shift in her and held her back to him.

He looked at Caitlyn with a similar contempt to Scully's. "My sister died." he mumbled.

If anyone's eyes weren't bugging out of their head's already, they all were now, including Scully's own.

"I didn't know you had a sister." Scully said in a whisper.

"I didn't want to tell you the day you found out about my scars because you were already so depressed about them, I…I couldn't bring myself to tell you why and how they got there." Mulder spoke quietly, but loud enough for the others around them to hear.

"Fox, it must be impossible for you to talk about, but can I ask what happened to her?" Margaret asked with genuine sympathy and didn't seem to care about the fact that her daughter was in his lap and holding onto him as if her life depended on it.

Mulder swallowed, then drew in a shaky breath. "Samantha," he paused for a few seconds, "We lived in upstate New York before we moved here and…Sam was kidnapped when I was twelve. She was eight."

"Oh, my God." came from a few different mouths.

"Yeah, it tore the family apart. The police finally found her a three months later. She'd been tortured and killed." he breathed.

Scully felt more than heard every word he said. The nervous circles he drew on her shoulder had her own anxieties coming back full force. "Don't do this, Mulder. Don't do this to yourself." she whispered.

"It needs to be known." he rubbed her back, steadying himself as much as possible. "I was young, and I didn't really have any friends or anyone to talk to, for that matter. On the one year anniversary of her disappearance…" he swallowed and licked his dry lips, "…my father had been teaching me how to shave."

She wanted to tear her ears off. Scully had the mental image of him taking apart the every-day household item and… "Please stop, Mulder. Just stop." she sobbed and buried her face into his neck.

He was surprised at how much this was killing her to hear, even though she knew she needed to hear it. Her words from a few days back resounded in his head.

"_When you hurt, I hurt, and the same goes vice versa."_

The words didn't have the same impact that they did now. He wrapped his arms tighter around her. Mulder knew she was already about as warm as a furnace from crying, but he needed to know she was there. She was his touchstone, had become it in a matter of days, and at the moment he just couldn't let her out of his arms. He wouldn't even if he could.

"I have a question." Bill Jr., who had been surprisingly quiet all night, asked, "Why are you telling all of this to complete strangers if it hurts so bad?"

"Bill!" his mother hissed, but Mulder waved it off.

"It's not a problem. I'm telling you all of because of what I want to say next." he said.

Mulder looked down at Scully, who had stopped crying recently and was now just content to be held. He exhaled. "Losing my sister was a tragedy, yes. Did I cope with it well? No, not in the least. But it did make me see the world through brand new eyes. Eyes that showed me that life can be taken from us as quickly as we are granted it. And I want to tell all of you…" he gestured to the couch where Bill, Bill Jr., Maggie, and Melissa were all sitting together. "that if I do wrong by this one," he patted Scully's head. "I want you to shoot me dead. She doesn't deserve it and I don't want to be the one to have wronged her."

Bill Jr. simply rolled his eyes, thinking Mulder was full of it or a kiss-ass. However, the couch's other three occupants had matching smiles, the women even with tears in their eyes. Melissa was the first one to speak.

"Dana, marry him or I will."

That brightened the mood considerably as Caroline and James rounded up their kids as got ready to leave.

_**(X)**_

"You are a god." Scully whispered as she gave him the seventh good-night kiss they'd had since they stood in the entryway.

"Well, I aim to please." Mulder pulled her into a tight hug, breathing in the smell of her fruity shampoo, and wishing he didn't have to go home.

She pulled back to kiss him on the forehead and meet his eyes. "You know we have things we need to talk about now, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I know. I just feel really drained right now."

"You got off easy. I'm surprised how lightly they went on you." she laughed a little.

"And here you were all worked up for nothing." he smiled tiredly.

"No kidding, but it was all worth it. I think they like you." she whispered like it was a big secret. "I like you, too."

"Thanks. You and me are going to work on getting that _like_ upped a little more, though." Mulder grinned as he ran a finger over her hair.

"What? So pretty soon I'm going to start _like_ liking you?" she asked with some sarcasm.

"You got it, darling." He pulled her in for one final kiss before he nuzzled her nose with his own. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Can you text me when you get home?" she asked, and suddenly realized she sounded like a nervous wife. "I mean, the roads look pretty bad and-" he silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"The second I walk in the door." Mulder took her hand, guided it to his lips and kissed it like a gentleman, and wished her sweet dreams. She said the same to him and watched him pull out of the driveway until his taillights disappeared into the darkness.

Scully sighed and slouched against the door, never feeling as drained or as happy as she felt right then. She stumbled into the kitchen where Maggie and Melissa were at the counter with bottles of water. She took one for herself and looked at her mother expectantly.

"Well?" she asked as she slammed half the bottle in one go. Her throat had been dry for a long time now.

Maggie looked to Melissa, who gave her a 'you know my opinion' look. Looking back to Scully, she said, "He's a total prince, and I'm sorry I didn't trust you before."

Scully exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding, feeling vindicated. "I'm glad you think so, Mom."

"You're happy 'cause you love him." Melissa chimed in.

Scully choked a little as her drink went down the wrong pipe. "What did you say?"

"You love him. L-O-V-E, you love him." she said in a sing-song voice.

"Missy, I'm not exactly sure what I feel for him yet, or what he feels for me entirely. We've only known each other a week." Scully reasoned as she began walking up to her room with her sister hot on her heels.

"You can say whatever you need to say to get yourself to sleep at night, baby-sis, but you love him. And he loves you back." Melissa said with a grin that looked like it would leave a permanent dent in her face it was so wide.

Scully rolled her eyes, "'Night Missy." she said as she shut the door.

* * *

**_So...how is it? _**

**__****_I did change a few things up a bit with the Samantha aspect, as you probably can see. I thought it'd be more traumatic if they actually found her and I couldn't really see the alien-abduction angle working here. I also added a few family member of my own devisement (if that's even a word) and I thought we needed a character that isn't afraid to tear them down._**

**_Don't worry, though. I will have Diana in here later on, I'm not so cruel as to leave her out (yeah right XD) but I want you guy's opinions on what I can do with this. If I don't listen to the public, what kinda of fanfic writer am I? _**


	7. Havoc and Hickeys

_**So this is kind of a quickie update, and I want to start some angst sooner or later, but there is something I want to ease into. You guys are only gonna get a taste of what I'm plotting, so I hope you'll stick around for a little while...and reviews don't hurt either. XD Happy reading!**_

_**Chapter Seven:**_

_One week later…_

"You evil little bastard." Scully muttered to her locker as it refused to open on the second try. The hallways were void of people since it was the middle of fifth period. She'd made the mistake of leaving her English report in her locker, earning her a scowl from her teacher and a hall pass to go get it. Now her locker decided to make her life miserable.

She spun in the combination for the third time and pulled on the lever. It didn't budge.

"Oh, you son of a bitch." she cursed the piece of metal that separated her from her most important grade of the year and kicked it.

"Having trouble?" a gruff voice she didn't recognize asked.

Scully turned and looked at the chest of one of the football players. Looking up, a ordinary smile and cold eyes looked back at her. An uncomfortable chill ran up her spine as she suddenly felt very small and frail in comparison.

"Um…yeah." she said after a minute. His smile was creepy, almost like he was coming onto her.

"Can I try?" he asked, pointing to the infernal metal closet.

"Sure." Scully replied dumfounded. She put in the combination once more and stepped away, allowing him the room that was necessary. Maybe he was just trying to help out, but it didn't stop the uneasy feeling he'd stirred up in her. There was just something about his presence that made her back away.

Jerking on the handle a couple of quick sharp times, the door finally gave up and opened. An even wider smile appeared on his face in triumph.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. I hate this stupid thing." Scully grabbed the folder off the top shelf and shut the door again, knowing that Mulder was going to have to wrestle with it later.

"Not a problem." he replied.

Scully felt the chill in her spine intensify. She turned back to him to see that he was touching her head, petting her hair like a dog.

"You have such a beautiful color." his gravelly voice stated.

She didn't know what to say. The look in his eyes was almost mesmerized by her hair as she pulled away from his touch. "Uh…okay. Thanks again." Scully said nervously and ran, didn't walk, back to class.

_**(X)**_

"I had a rather disturbing experience today at my locker." Scully mumbled. There wasn't a need to speak any louder.

The two of them were spooned up on Mulder's couch watching an old movie from God knew how long ago. Both were surprised at how well they fit together with the dramatic height difference between them. His right arm was draped across her stomach while his left was stretched out, acting as a pillow for her.

"How so?" Mulder's thumb traced circles on her stomach.

Scully turned to lay on her back to look at him. She laced her fingers through his and held his gaze. "My locker wouldn't open and this really weird guy materialized out of nowhere. He opened it, but when I reached in to get something, he…" she couldn't formulate an intelligent way to say it.

"What'd he do?" he asked, the concern in his eyes growing.

"He…petted me like a dog." she blurted out.

Mulder nodded. "Yeah, you ran into Donnie."

"Who?" Scully asked.

"Donnie Pfaster. Nobody thinks he's completely with it. I've talked to him a couple times. I don't think he could hurt a fly." he tried to put her at ease, but she wasn't having it.

"I'm serious, Mulder. The guy gave me chills." she tried again.

He gave her a sympathetic smile, then his upturned lips took on a much more sinister look. "I know what else gives you chills." Mulder closed the few inches between them and attacked her neck.

Scully felt all the oxygen leave her lungs as he nibbled at her pulse point. Her mind went blank as she shucked off the days events, letting them fall from her like weights. She knew there was definitely going to be a bruise where his lips met her skin, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She also knew that he was restless when he kissed her, and would probably leave more than just one little hickey.

At that moment, she had better things to care about.

_**(X)**_

"He's full of it." Bill Jr. grumbled.

"Don't you start that. He's a very sweet boy." Maggie Scully defended.

"He's also a hottie. I mean, if only he were a little older, you know?" Melissa smiled.

"Unfortunately, yes." Bill Sr. laughed at his daughter.

Scully walked into her house a few hours later unannounced. Hearing the conversation emanating from the kitchen, she sneaked a little closer to the door to catch what they were talking about. She unconsciously pulled the scarf she was wearing tighter around her neck, not needing anyone to see the evidence of the 'relaxation methods' that her boyfriend used on her that afternoon.

The simple thought send a shiver up her spine. It was instances like this that really made her wonder and consider Melissa's belief that she was, in fact, in love. It aroused several questions in her mind. Was it possible to tell after just a couple weeks? How was one supposed to feel when they were in love? What did it mean to be in love?

All of these inquiries Scully thought she already had the answers to. Now, when all of these things counted, she didn't know which way was up and which was down. Did that mean something? She didn't have the faintest idea anymore.

"How can you say that, Melissa? Didn't you see the way he was kissing ass last week? The whole time he was sitting there he looked like he was ready to jump her." Bill Jr. shook his head.

Scully felt a tug in her chest. It was almost as if someone had plucked at something in her heart. The thought to defend kicked in, but she held back. They hadn't seen her in the doorway yet, and she wanted to hear what more there was to say.

"Bill, you're crazy. In case you didn't know, there's a difference between tenderness and…that." Melissa gestured absently with one hand.

"I'm sorry, I just don't like the guy. Something isn't right with him." he continued with disapproving head shakes from his parents.

Something snapped in Scully at that moment; a question on her mind. "What wouldn't be right with him, Bill?"

All four family members whipped around to the new voice in the room, all of them already knowing who it was. Bill, who looked like he'd just been busted with drugs, turned a deep shade of red as his little sister approached him.

"I…I don't know, Danes. There's just something odd about him."

Melissa, Maggie, and Bill Sr. winced in unison. The youngest daughter was, without a doubt, the best in argument. She was one of the family, and sharp wits came with the genes, but it seemed as though Dana Scully was blessed with more than what met the eye.

"What is it, Bill? Is it because he isn't a football player?" she shrugged. "Because he sees the world a different way than you do? Because he has a painful past?" Scully tried to meet her brother's eyes, but he didn't let her until he stood up, talking down to her.

"Dana, I'm sorry, but I just think that you can do better." he finally spoke. Bill stood more than a foot taller than her, and the intimidation might have worked…once upon a time.

The other three looked wide-eyed from him to her, only wishing they could've gotten popcorn to this fight.

Scully's face had fallen, hurt by his words. "I can do _better_?"

Bill rubbed the back of his head. "Well…yeah."

She bit her lip, rage settling into her eyes. "Let me let you in on something, Bill. The facts are that _I'm not like you and Missy._" Scully enunciated. "I'm not captain of the cheerleading squad or the best artist or Miss Congeniality, for that matter. I'm just plain Jane Dana. And until high school, I didn't mind that." her eyes were starting to well up, but she wasn't going to let the tears fall.

"Dana, you're not plain." her mother attempted consolation.

It only partially worked. "No, mom, I'm not. I have a four-point-oh GPA, and that makes me 'nerdy' or a 'geek'. At first, you're proud of yourself for doing it, but then you realize real quick that guys don't want that. They want the popular kids, flaky bimbos, or good-time girls. A science-geek doesn't usually make their cut."

"Danes, I don't believe that. You're beautiful." It was Melissa's turn.

Scully sniffled, "Even if I believed that, it doesn't make one bit of difference." She turned her attention back to Bill. "I'm not like you, Bill. I don't have hordes of people surrounding me, wanting to be my friend. I have three close friends: John, Monica, and Mulder. And God only knows what Mulder saw in me that makes like me so much."

"I'd say he likes you a lot." Bill scratched his neck in indication. "Why don't you take your scarf off, sis?"

Backing away, she shook her head. Bill didn't care though. Reaching out, he pulled the thin black and grey fabric clear away from her neck in a way that wouldn't choke her.

Three gasps and a victorious smile from Bill Jr. greeted what was unveiled. The dark red, almost purplish spots that covered both sides of her neck wasn't something that Scully was ashamed of. She was a little shocked that her brother invaded her privacy like that, but nowhere near embarrassed.

"Is that something a respectful young man does to a woman he cares about?" he turned and asked their audience, who was stunned into silence.

Scully looked down at the floor, the dam finally bursting behind her eyes as she muttered softly.

"What was that, sis?" Bill Jr. asked, his giant grin still in place.

She looked up, and the smirk finally fell from his face. Scully was, in a word, crushed. The little bit of mascara and eye-liner she'd put on that morning was running in grey lines down her cheeks. She held her middle like she might throw-up as her previously white shirt would now don streaks of saline and make-up.

"You don't get it…and you don't even fucking have to." she sobbed as she grabbed her scarf from his grasp and headed out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and up to her room. When she got there, she slammed the door so hard the hinges rattled. Scully then leaned against it, sagging to the floor.

She looked around the dark room, feeling for the thing that would act as her security blanket. When her fingers closed over it, she let out a sigh of relief as she wrapped it around her shoulder and burrowed into her bed. With Mulder's favorite hoodie wrapped around her, completely black except for a small skull and crossbones on the right breast, she felt a little better. It smelled like Old Spice and him. She was actually starting to drift to sleep when someone knocked.

"Dana, it's Mom. Can I come in?" Maggie's muffled voice asked through the door.

Scully really wished she was meaner in instances like this. But, then again, her mother had nothing to do with it. She rolled over and pushed her back against one wall. "It's open."

She walked into her daughter's room and turned on the lamp beside her desk. Scully gave her a sad smile as her mom tentatively sat down on the bed.

"Are you okay, dear?" she asked.

"I guess that depends how you define 'okay'." she shrugged, then pulled herself together, "I'm fine, really Mom. I guess I just…wasn't ready for that."

"Dana…" Margaret searched for the right words. "…I want you to know that…I get it."

Scully pulled the hoodie tighter around her. "What do you mean?"

"I get what you were saying down there." she stated. "Before I met your father, I felt the exact same way you do now. 'I'm odd.', 'I'm weird.', 'Peopled aren't going to like me the way I am.'. When I met your Dad and he changed all of that…and I defended him with my life to Grandma and Grandpa. The thought of being cared about by someone who isn't obligated to means more somehow."

"I thought Gram and Gramps always liked Dad?" Scully asked quietly.

Margaret exhaled, "Not at first. You're father was older and more daring and, despite what you see today, quite handsome at the time. He was actually a lot like Fox. He was sweet and caring, and knew me almost better than he knew himself."

Scully smiled a little at the comparison between the two men in her life. Having idolized her father since she was a small child, it stirred something in her to think that her father and her boyfriend were somewhat alike. She wiped away the goop that was left from her crying as her mom placed a hand on her knee reassuringly.

"Don't worry about, Bill, Dana. We know he's no good at picking out a bad guy from a good one." she smiled. Scully's fleeting childhood instincts kicked in as she scooted closer to her mother and leaned her head on her shoulder. Maggie, a little surprised, wrapped around her younger daughter and rubbed her back in support.

"Really." Scully agreed. The last time her brother thought a guy was cool, he woke up in a car on the side of the freeway with no memory of how he got there. In all honesty, Bill didn't really have room to question someone's character or judgment, and especially not his own sister's.

"Get some sleep, honey. Tomorrow's a new day." Maggie patted her daughter's knee affectionately, then rising to leave the room.

"Night, Mom." Scully whispered. "And thanks."

"No, problem, hon. Night." Maggie smiled, turned off the light, and closed the door behind her.

Scully tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, feeling a little better. She changed out of her clothes and into a pair of silk pajamas and brushed through her hair in the dark. It was nighttime, and only half a moon hung low in the sky, not providing a whole lot of light. She ran a hand over her neck, and she thought she might as well see what everybody else saw. She was the one, after all, who had even experienced it.

Flicking on the light switch, she looked back at the reflection. Scully felt herself sink to the chair in front of the mirror as she looked over her neck. Some of the spots bigger than other, and some were darker in color, but when she closed her eyes, she could still feel his warm lips on each purpling spot on her smooth neck. His fingers ran up and down her arms, trying to warm her shivering frame. All she could think to do was to hold him close and encourage him, not wanting him to stop even for a second.

She blushed at the memory, mentally berating herself for it. She met her eyes in the glass, but didn't see shame. If anything, she saw a light in her eyes she'd never really seen before.

Shaking her head, Scully turned the light out before she could analyze what her love-bites meant and create questions in her head and become the cause of her own insomnia. She crawled between the covers, then looked back down at the foot of the bed where she'd left the hoodie. It was an easy, unspoken decision as she wrapped it around herself once more and fell soundly asleep with a smile.

* * *

_**I know what you guys are thinking, where the heck is this supposed to take us? Am I right? Well, I've got a few ideas stockpiled, a few of them thanks to DanH2010, but I'm not revealing my secrets without reviews. Understand that they ARE the reason that I write, people. I love all of you who've stuck around this long and I hope you click that button to leave me your thoughts.**_


	8. Nothing Is Black and White

**_Well, my faithful readers, while this might be a little on the fluffy side of things, we're building up to some major drama. I always thought you gotta balance light with dark, and therefore fluff with angst. While this chapter might seem totally pointless, it builds up to something we all can recall from season one... Happy reading! xD_**

**_Chapter Eight:_**

"Mon, can I ask you something?" Scully asked as she bit into a Twizzler.

"Of course Danes! God knows how rarely you tell me anything anymore." Monica replied as she peeled two of the licorice strands apart.

Monica's bedroom wasn't much bigger than Scully's. She had all the same essentials as her friend, the only difference being the TV balanced on top of Monica's dresser. Her bed was interesting, to say the least. She had what were once bunk beds. Scully remembered the day she got called over to her house to help her tear out the bottom bunk. She still had nightmares about that sledgehammer.

After she'd left that day, Monica had it decorated with beanbag chairs, a mini-fridge, numerous band posters, and a electric disco ball that she'd duct-tapped to the underside of her bed. She called it the 'emo corner' because it was where she went when she was emotional. The name didn't matter, though. It was her favorite spot in the house, as well as Scully's.

"Hey, you went through your little recessive period from me when you met John. Can't blame me for my own." Scully smiled as she kicked her friend in the shin.

Monica's lips pursed as she thought. "Yeah, you got a point. Anyway, what do you wanna ask me?"

Scully finished her strand of licorice before she spoke, "Should I be pissed that my brother talks about my boyfriend like he's a criminal?" she sneered a little.

"I don't think it's a matter of 'are you', 'cause it sounds more of a 'yes, you are'." Monica smiled a little as she took a swig of the soda that the two shared.

She sighed, "I mean, I see that Bill's just trying to protect me, but I don't need to be protected from Mulder. Everyone else thinks he's a good guy except for Bill. He was even talking about us behind my back to my parents and Missy."

Monica clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, shaking her head in disproval. "You think your brother would get the fact that your independent enough to make your own decisions."

Scully looked up at the rotating disco ball and smiled.

"What? Monica asked.

"On our first date, Mulder called me 'a conformed little Catholic girl with a wild, rebellious side that's dying for an outlet.' With the way Bill treats me, I feel like that rebel, and I don't think that's a good thing." Scully chuckled.

Monica's eyes widened, "Hell, yes, it is! If you start acting like an adult who can make her own decisions, then they'll start treating you like one. That's how I got as much freedom as I got."

Scully licked her lips, "This coming from the woman who told her parents she was spending the night at my house when she really went with her boyfriend up to his parents beach house?" she joked.

Monica reached over and clamped her hand over her friend's mouth, "Shut up! My parents still don't know about that, and they don't need to!"

Scully held her hands up in surrender, the white-flag gesture allowing Monica to take her hand back.

"So…do you love him?" Monica asked as she delved into another package of Twizzlers.

She sighed. "I don't know. Is it possible to fall in love in less than a month?"

"Heck, I fell for John by our third date." Monica shrugged.

"Well, yes, but you're more free-spirited and a lot prettier than I am. I don't have that much self-confidence in the that arena, anyway." Scully twirled a lock of hair around her fingertip, a nervous habit from her childhood.

"Don't say that, Dana. You're beautiful even though you refuse to believe anyone who tells you so." Monica reassured her friend with a foot-jab to the shoulder.

Scully laughed a little and smiled at her friend's reassurance. "Even so, I don't know what I feel for him right now. And If I did, I don't think I'd tell him. It's been my observation that guys get weird when you start talking about emotions and I don't want to scare him away. I like him a lot, and maybe I love him..." She didn't really know what to say. "I don't know yet. I don't think I wanna be the first one to bring up that conversation."

Monica nodded, "Makes sense. If he's the first one to say it, it seems to mean a lot more, you know? "

"I guess I won't until it happens." It was Scully's turn to shrug. As soon as the sentence left her mouth, her cell phone began demanding her attention. 'Those Nights' by Skillet was the muffled song playing in her purse as she fumbled for the annoying contraption. It was probably just her mother checking in on her.

"Is that lover-boy now?" Monica asked with a laugh.

Scully checked caller-ID. "Actually, it is." she smiled as Mulder's name appeared in the window of her Motorola Razr. Flipping it open, she looked down at her feet as she spoke. "Hello?"

"Excuse me," a familiar voice said, "I seemed to have misplaced my girlfriend. Have you seen her?"

She smiled as Monica looked on with questions in her eyes. "Well, I don't know now. Describe her to me."

"Petite, almost pixie-like, gold-scarlett hair, beautiful blue-green eyes. She's probably wearing one of my hoodies that she keeps stealing from me. Ringing any bells?" she could hear the smile in his voice.

Scully's eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at the sweater she was wearing, this one white and black checked, and about three sizes too big for her. "Possibly. Do you want them back?"

"Keep 'em as long as you like, I was just wondering what you were up to." he stated.

She could just picture his head hanging off the side of the couch, completely bored, as he spoke to her. "Sittin' in Monica's bedroom eating Twizzlers for about the last…forty-five minutes." she said.

Mulder chuckled, "Nice, don't rot your teeth out."

"Oh, you know me better than that." Scully looked to Monica, who was flapping around and wondering what the conversation was about. "I think Monica wants to say hi."

"I'm gonna regret this, but put her on." Mulder groaned and Scully smiled.

"Alright, here she is." Scully passed the phone over to her convulsing friend, who snatched it up quickly.

"Hey, Foxy Cleopatra! What's up?" Monica grinned as Scully smacked herself in the forehead with her palm.

The conversation carried on for a few minutes. When Monica was finished talking about nothing with him, she handed the phone back to a red-faced Scully. The smile on her face was incomparable to anything other than the Cheshire Cat.

"Sorry 'bout that." was the first thing Scully said into the phone when she got it back. It earned her a foot in the gut courtesy of her friend.

"Don't be. I actually find Reyes quite interesting." he said with a sincerity in his voice that she didn't think could be faked.

"Do you want company?" Scully asked, not feeling like beating around the bush anymore.

"Well, if your not busy, it is kinda lonely over here." she could tell he had those puppy dog eyes on even though she couldn't them.

"I'll be over in a few." she reassured.

"'Kay. Bye." he whispered.

"Bye." she replied as she shut her phone and tucked it back in her bag. Scully then looked up at Monica. "Why do you have to call him 'Foxy Cleopatra'?" she asked.

"Well, it started with just 'Foxy' and then it just kinda developed from there. It's not like I'm calling him anything bad." Monica reasoned.

Scully rolled her eyes as she got out from underneath the bed and looked out the window. "Rain's still comin' down pretty hard out there." she commented.

"Having second thoughts about braving the rain to see lover-boy?" Monica asked.

Her response was popping the hood of the sweatshirt up and pulling at the strings to tighten it up. "Sorry, Mon. I've entertained you for this long and now another bored soul is calling for my assistance."

"Don't sweat it, hon. I'll see you later." Monica got up and hugged Scully quickly.

She returned the favor and waved as she walked down the hallway.

It was pouring outside, as it had been lately. At this rate, everyone was bound for a pretty green summer when it came to the grass. Nobody could blame drought on the reason nothing would grow this time around.

Scully ran out to the driveway as fast as she could manage without falling into the slippery grass. Starting up the Impala, she turned the heat on full blast and waited for the engine to warm up a little. The rain was freezing, and her just-about-shot heater in her car wasn't doing much to help.

The sad thing was Scully knew where the only place was where she felt completely warm and safe as of late. And that was in Fox Mulder's arms.

_**(X)**_

Mulder sat hunched over the dining room table, his eyes following the tip of the charcoal he was drawing with. Every light in the sizeable house was turned off, the candles that were lit on the table and the fire in the fireplace served as his only light. It was the closest thing he could get to real light. Dark torrents of rain poured outside, the occasional thunderclap and stroke of lightening following them. The sky was swallowed up in grey, and he didn't trust artificial lights to bring out the same values in his artwork.

He began wondering if he should've asked Scully to venture out into the storm just to see him, but didn't want to call her if she was driving. After he'd actually thought it through, he started to worry. In an attempt to calm his nerves, Mulder found the sketch he'd been working on, an album cover he saw once, and tried to work, but it didn't help.

Getting up from the table, he walked into the living room and looked out the front window. When he saw the black Impala was sitting in the driveway and the resounding chirp of the doorbell, he breathed a sigh of relief as he went to open it.

What he saw when he opened it was near heartbreaking. The reason he got up in the morning anymore was drenched from head to toe and shivering so bad it looked as though she was having a seizure. Those captivating green eyes looked up at him pleadingly as her pouted bottom lip trembled.

"Aww…" was all he could say as he led her inside. "My little drowned mouse."

"S-s-sh-shut up." Scully stammered as she hugged herself even tighter.

"What happened to you? How'd you get so wet?" Mulder slid his sweatshirt from her shoulders to find that her own purple t-shirt was soaked through as well.

"I-I-I had to stop and get gas at H-Holiday and some prick in a Portia came like a bat out of hell tidal-waved me." she whispered as she reached up to comb her fingers through her wet hair.

Mulder took the hand her hand from her hair, kissed it, and held it to his chest. She gasped.

"Warm…" Scully reached out to him like a zombie, trying to take some of that warmth for herself, but he slipped out just before she wrapped her wet arms around him.

"Follow me and we'll get you out of those wet clothes. Then I'll hug you as long as you want." He took possession of her hand again and led her down to his basement bedroom.

He stepped into the small bathroom that some architect thought to put in the basement and wrapped her in a towel, rubbing her back and sides in an effort to warm her. Mulder then went to the closet in search for something for her to put on. When he came out with a pair of black pajama pants and an 'Escape The Fate' t-shirt, she actually chuckled a little.

"Hey, you wanted me and said you like me for who I am. Part of me is a lot of black in my wardrobe" he shrugged as he handed her the clothes.

"And I still do." she replied as she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Scully ran the towel through her hair. She changed quickly and looked around the bathroom, not sure what to do with her wet clothes. Turning around, she saw an arm reaching through the crack of the door.

"Hand me your clothes and I'll throw 'em in the wash." her boyfriend's disembodied voice said.

She handed her clothes to the hand and waited to hear him jog up the stairs to the washroom before she came out of the bathroom. If anything, she was colder now then she was before. Holding herself once more, she went into the closet herself and found his black and red 'All-American Rejects' hoodie and wrapped it around herself and zipped it up. When she still wasn't warming up, she rubbed up and down her arms to warm herself up.

That was how Mulder found her, sitting on his bed and futilely trying to warm herself. He had to stop and smile for a second at how cute she was. At that moment, he could hear his heart beating in his chest and his breath quicken in his lungs.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?" Scully asked without looking at him.

"If it were possible, I'd stand here till the end of time watching you." He stepped in front of her looked down at her still-shivering form.

Scully's eyes went from annoyed to sad as she reached out to him like a small child wanting to be picked up. Her heart had taken a beating over the last few days. With her and Bill harping at each other lately, there was rarely peace when they were around one another. She knew that there was the comfort and warmth she craved in the embrace of the man she was reaching out to, and he'd give it to her obligingly.

She was right. Mulder scooped her off the bed and into his arms as he turned the tables and sat down himself with her in his lap. Her legs had automatically wrapped themselves around his waist, supporting herself, as well as her arms around his neck. Scully burrowed into him as her body continued to tremble.

"Jeez, Scully, you're freezing." he mumbled into her shoulder as her bare foot touched his back right where his shirt had ridden up.

"No shit, Sherlock." she muttered right back, holding on tighter.

Mulder stiffened. He'd never heard Scully curse before. "Something the matter, Watson?"

Scully loosened her grip a little and leaned her forehead against his with a shrug. "It's just…my brother's being a jerk. He doesn't like you."

He smiled, "Aw, really? And all this time I thought he liked me with those icy glares and middle fingers."

Her eyes went wide, "He flipped you off."

"Only once, but it looked more like a 'come here' type gesture." Mulder mimicked the motion Bill Jr. had made to him in the driveway about a week ago.

Scully shook her head. "Ugh, I'm gonna kill him."

"Don't bother, babe. He's probably just being an older brother and lookin' out for you." Mulder reassured.

"I don't need it, though. I trust you enough not to kidnap me or anything." she smiled.

"I will if you want me to."

Scully rested her chin on top of his head and began to absently play with the dark strands, twirling a few on her fingertips like she did with her own hair. Mulder held her closer, reveling in the simplicity of the moment as he ran warming strokes up and down her back. Both were almost oblivious to her ringing phone.

Almost.

She sighed and fumbled through her purse for the currently despised contraption. Finding it, she flipped it open. "Hello?…Mom?…Mom, what's the matter?…No, I'm at Mulder's right now. Mom, what's…?" she froze.

"What? What is it?" Mulder asked with concern.

She held up a finger, silently asking him to wait. "Yeah, he can bring me. His truck'll do better on the roads…I'll see you in a few." Scully ended the call at that, looking down at her lap.

"Scully? What's wrong?" he asked again. Mulder tried to meet her eyes, but Scully was as still as a statue. "Dana?"

"My father just had a heart attack."

* * *

**_Dun, dun, duuuun... and please review if you've read this far. You're going to have to if you want to find out what happens. XD_**


	9. Rainy Day Blues

_**So, I realize this took forever, and I'm sorry. Whatever I wrote just didn't sound right. The next one'll come a lot quicker, I promise. Love you all and happy reading. :)**_

_**Chapter Nine:**_

Mulder and Scully walked the pristine white hallways that the hospital sported, both with a certain level of purpose in each step they took.

It was a typical hospital with harsh fluorescent lights and the lingering scent combination of ammonia and bleach stinking the air. Doctors and nurses would fumble around for the correct file for the correct patient as loved ones would pace the waiting area, eagerly awaiting any news that came on the person they were there for.

The cardiac wing fit the common stereotype, only the waiting area consisted of Scully quite a few members of the Scully clan.

Maggie was the first to notice the couple enter the room. She came up and hugged her daughter tightly and looked at Mulder. "Thanks for bringing her, Fox."

"Don't mention it." he waved off her thanks.

"How is he?" Scully asked with the little breathing room her mother allotted her.

"I don't know yet. Doctors and nurses have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off, but do you think I can get a straight answer out of anybody?" Maggie gave the nervous chuckle that Scully hadn't heard since Melissa's prom.

Mulder gave Scully's shoulder an sympathetic squeeze and a half hug when she turned away from her mom.

Scully had made a silent decision in the truck on the way to the hospital, and that was not to overreact until they knew exactly what was wrong and whether her father would be okay or not. Mulder had already seen her cry one too many times.

Before she'd met Mulder, the only time Scully had every cried was late at night when there weren't witnesses to the event. It made her feel weak, and preferred not to pass along the feeling. Vulnerability was something that had never really settled well with her.

Letting go of her hand, Mulder made the snap decision to hug his girlfriend's mother. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Scully. I can't imagine what you must be going through right now."

Maggie, a little stunned, returned the favor. "Thank you, Fox. That's very sweet of you."

Scully smiled at the scene in front of her and thought, _"If I can only get him and Bill to be that accepting of each other." _

"Margaret Scully?" a man in a white coat stepped into the doorway of the waiting room.

The three stepped over to him, Mulder and Scully hanging a bit behind Maggie. "That's me, you are…?"

"Smith, ma'am. Dr. Jeremiah Smith. I just wanted to let you know that your husband's going to be fine, but we are looking at some coronary blockage that's concerning us. We'd like to keep him a couple more days just to be on the safe side. He's awake if you want to see him." Smith told them, then politely excused himself to tend to his other patients.

The three of them looked at one another, then all walked wordlessly down another hallway and stopped outside the correct door.

Scully nonchalantly laced her fingers through Mulder's, trying to be as casual as she could. He knew better than that, though. He knew this had upset her, and even if he didn't, the cold sweat that glued their palms together was enough to give him the hint. All he could do was give her hand a quick, reassuring squeeze before the door was opened.

It wasn't as bad as she'd anticipated, but then she'd always assumed the worst. Bill Scully was a tough old man that didn't go down easily. Even as the trio walked into the room, he had a smile on his face.

"You all look like you've seen a ghost." he commented in a gravelly voice.

Smiling, they ringed the bed in a typical fashion: Mulder and Scully on one side and Maggie on the other.

"You look good, sir." Mulder joked with a small smile. Scully elbowed him in the ribs for it, but Bill grinned.

"Thank you, Mulder. I don't necessarily feel as good as I look, though." his gaze fell to his daughter. "You lose weight, Starbuck?"

She looked down at the oversized clothes she was wearing and chuckled, "I wish." Scully bent down and hugged her father as tightly as she could.

"You don't need to lose weight, hon." Maggie reassured her before she looked down at Bill.

The elder couple held hands and didn't speak a word. After years of marriage, children, and Navy service on Bill's part, words weren't needed to convey thoughts and feelings. It was something Scully had envied and wished to have one day.

Looking back to his daughter, Bill rubbed her cotton-covered arm reassuringly. "Don't worry yourself so much, Starbuck. I've lived through worse."

She gave him a half smile, "Okay."

"Hey," Bill beckoned her back down for another awkward hug. "I love you, Starbuck."

"I love you, too, Ahab."

_**(X)**_

Mulder followed Maggie as closely as he thought was safe in the rapidly deteriorating weather. It felt like a hurricane had hit Maryland full-force and didn't look prepared to lighten up anytime soon. The sky was practically black with thick clouds that allowed the onslaught of freezing raindrops. A flash of light and a bellow of thunder resounded somewhere off in the distance.

He looked over at Scully, who'd been pretty quiet ever since they left the hospital. He'd learned over the last month she got really quiet when she was either lost in thought or exhausted. Mulder could only hope it was the latter, but knew it wasn't likely.

"Are you okay?" he chanced a glance over at her as he battled the rain and the wind in an effort to take her home.

Scully breathed in deeply, then nodded, "Yeah. I'll be okay."

"That's not what I asked." Mulder replied.

She shrugged, "Just…had my cage rattled a little, if you get what I mean."

"Hell of a rattle." he murmured.

"Yeah."

He pulled into the driveway carefully. Mulder had already hydroplaned three times and wasn't looking to roll the truck. The sewers were no doubt going to be either plugged or overrun.

The pair sat in the truck for a moment, looked at each other, and agreed to go together on the count of three. Once they ran out into the rain, it was a mad dash for the front door where the awning would shield them.

"Ugh…" Scully stated unintelligibly as she shook the water from her like a wet dog for the second time that day.

"You can say that again." Mulder shucked out of his leather jacket and hung it on the rack.

Maggie, who had already shed her own wet coat, handed the two of them towels. "Fox, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I would feel a lot better if you stayed for awhile. It's not safe to drive out there by yourself."

He nodded as he ran the towel over his short cap of hair. "I appreciate it. I'd much rather be here with people than at home by myself."

"Where are your parents, anyway?" Scully asked as she took off the sweatshirt, this one not as soaked as the first she'd had on that day.

"Dad's in D.C. on business and Mom went up to Massachusetts for the weekend. She's up there visiting my aunt, or something to that effect." he replied.

Scully nodded, seriously wondering how lonely he was when he called her a couple hours ago now. Then Margaret said something that had her pondering her mother's sanity.

"Would you like to spend the night? I can make up the guest room." she smiled.

Her daughter looked at her like she'd sprouted a second head while Mulder shook his head. "Oh, no. I don't want to cause any trouble for you, Mrs. Scully."

"It's no trouble at all. And I'd feel better knowing your not out in this alone." she gestured to the window.

"Mom." Scully finally spoke with an incredulous tone. "You never offered to put any of Missy's boyfriends up for the night."

"That's because Missy brought home either bad boys or losers. I have a little more faith in Fox." Maggie told her with an honest quality to her voice.

Scully was in shock. Where was the woman who was at the ready to say 'no' when she went out on a date? The woman who'd questioned her every movement since she'd hidden the fact that Melissa had come home from a party drunk one summer night several years ago? The woman who was willingly inviting her boyfriend to spend the night in their guest room had now taken her place.

Mulder, however, seemed rather pleased. "Thank you, Mrs. Scully. That means a lot."

"Does that mean you'll stay?" Scully asked as she wrapped her arms around him, trying to get close that warmth he possessed once more.

"You're clingy today." he chuckled as she reached up and smacked him upside the head. "If it's no trouble…"

"Then you're staying." Margaret affirmed. "Make yourself comfortable." she stated as she started climbing the stairs, presumably to prepare the guestroom.

Scully snuggled him a moment longer before she tilted her head back enough to see the underside of his head. "I need a shower." she stated matter-of-factly.

"Warm up?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah, that and I feel icky." she said and let him go.

"Icky? The incredibly literate Dana Scully feels 'icky'?" he teased.

She poked him in the ribs, making him flinch. "Shut up. I'll be down in ten."

He watched her retreat up the stairs, taking them two at a time, until she disappeared down the hallway of the second floor. He smiled to himself and chanced a glance in the living room.

Charlie was sitting on the floor next to the coffee table, the light from the TV outlining his lanky figure. Intent on whatever he was watching, Mulder left him alone and went to the kitchen.

Helping himself to a glass of water (the last thing he probably should've wanted in such horrible weather), he turned back around to find the youngest of the Scully children perched upon one of the barstools at the counter.

"Hey, Charlie. What's the word?" he smiled.

"Word is the word, but that doesn't matter." the eighth grader returned the toothy grin his sister's boyfriend gave him, then grew somber. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something. You know, man-to-man?"

Mulder looked at him with inquisitive eyes, "Why choose me as the second man in your conversation? You're brother can probably help you more than I can."

Charlie shook his head, "Nah, I think you can help me more than he could."

He swallowed, "May I ask why you think that?"

Charlie fidgeted a little with his hands, "Bill doesn't have a lot of luck with the ladies, if you know what I mean. And you're going out with my sister, who I'd never seen crush on anyone before you, so I thought you might be able to help me."

Mulder's smile spread slowly and steadily, "Well, I guess that's worth a vote of confidence. Who's the girl?"

"Just this girl in my class. I mean, I think she likes me. We've been friends for almost a year." Charlie went through the vague specifics as his confidant leaned his arms on the counter.

"You just don't want to make an idiot of yourself if you're wrong, right?" Mulder asked.

Charlie's eyes widened, "Exactly. How can I find out if she likes me like that?"

"Well…, my method with your sister wasn't exactly the most conventional, so I'd say just drop a couple of hints here and there." he replied.

"Like how? Tell her that I like her?" Charlie asked as he reached for an apple from the fruit bowl.

"No, don't do that because if she doesn't like you, you'll get burned. Be subtle. Wink at her, smile a little more in her direction, subtle." Mulder illustrated each action with a grin.

Charlie munched on his apple contemplatively. "What was your 'unconventional method' with Dana?"

"Basically," Mulder sighed, "I cornered her in the hallway and asked her out the first day I met her."

The younger male chuckled. "Smooth."

"Exactly. I'm still not sure whether it was initial shock or momentary insanity that made her say yes." The two chuckled, unaware of a third presence in the kitchen.

"There was a little bit of each, but mostly it was curiosity." Scully said with her back turned, searching out the refrigerator. Her wet hair was slickly combed back and actually touched her shoulders. A white silk robe was draped around her shoulders and hung open. Under it, she wore a pair of grey work-out shorts and a forest green tank top and bare feet.

"Good to know." Mulder watched her reach into the back and take a VitaminWater from the bundle.

"Thanks for the talk, Mulder. It helped." Charlie regained his attention as he hopped down from the barstool.

"Anytime." he smiled as Charlie left the kitchen.

Scully smiled as she came up beside him and watched her brother leave. "What was that about?"

He shrugged, "Just guy stuff."

* * *

_**For those of you wondering, I don't know if I really am going to kill her father or not yet. In keeping with the show, I probably should, but I have a couple ideas that I need him for yet. Maybe he will die, maybe he won't. You'll have to stay tuned to find out. **_

_**And yeah, it's quick and probably sucky, so I promise a good long one for the next chapter, but I need you guys to review. Leave me your thoughts. You don't know how big a motivator they really are to my little brain. XD**_


	10. Somewhere I Belong

**_K, so I know I promised a good, longer chapter this time around, so this one is more like my normal length. About 3,500 words in this one, give or take. I am also, in addition to being a hopeless romantic, quite old-fashioned. (Don't worry, you'll get what I mean by that when you start reading.) This takes place a little later same night, because I thought it'd be cute to finish said night. Happy reading XD._**

**_Chapter Ten:_**

"Anybody hungry?" Margaret Scully called from the kitchen.

It was about six o'clock, and the three teenagers were gathered in the living room. Charlie had talked Mulder into playing "Left 4 Dead" with him. He also invited Scully to play with them, but she declined after pulling out a well-worn copy of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" She was now huddled up on the couch, her iPod's earbuds in her ears to drown out the sound of gunfire and death that emanated from the televisions speakers.

At the sound of that simple question, however, three hands shot into the air.

Margaret laughed as Scully got up to help her. As she did, a golden-haired Pomeranian came walking out of the kitchen and walked up to Mulder, sniffing him tentatively.

"Well, hello." Mulder looked down at the dog and reached out to pet it. When he did, the dog backed away.

"It's alright, Queequeg." Charlie said to him. The dog then jumped into Mulder's lap and curled into a furry little ball.

"Queequeg?" Mulder asked.

"Dana named him." Charlie explained.

"I see." he ruffled the dog's hair a little, then turned his attention back to the television.

_**(X)**_

Scully doused the pizza dough in pepperoni, green peppers, and mushrooms while her mother did the dishes that were already in the sink. A small smile tugged at Margaret's lips, her daughter noticed, as she slid the pizza into the oven.

"What?" Scully asked as she wiped her hands on a towel, getting ready to take on the drying task.

"Nothing, it's just…" Margaret handed her a plate to dry as she looked out into the rain. "Charlie and Mulder seem to be getting along nicely."

Scully smiled. "Yeah, I should tell him he's two for three."

"Oh, don't think like that, Dana." Margaret slightly whined.

"I know I shouldn't, but sometimes…I just can't help it." Scully deadpanned. "Did Bill ever tell you _exactly_ why he doesn't like Mulder?"

Margaret sighed, "I think he's just being a big brother. I don't think he's destined to like any of the guys you bring home."

Scully looked up at her mother's profile, a deep seriousness set in her eyes. "Who's to say there will be any more?"

Maggie looked up as well, "What do you mean?"

She breathed, "I know it sounds crazy and it's just a 'what if', but what if there isn't anybody after Mulder. What if this is it?"

Margaret averted her eyes, not sure what to say to her daughter's question. The first thing that came to mind was to say that there will, in fact, be others after him. Thinking better against that, she simply said, "That bridge'll be crossed when you get to it, Dana."

Scully smiled, "You're right, I'm just thinking too far ahead of myself."

"Carpe Diem, hon. Don't think about a future that doesn't exist yet." Margaret ran her hands up and down her daughter's arms.

"Seize the day." Scully mumbled, then nodded, "Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime, sweetheart. Now check on the pizza before it burns." Maggie pushed her in the direction of the oven.

_**(X)**_

After everyone had eaten rather comfortably, Mulder and Charlie were about to switch out videogames to play something different when Maggie stepped into the living room.

"Everyone done with their homework?" she asked with a raised voice.

"Yep." Scully said as she flopped onto the couch.

"Affirmative." Mulder smiled.

Charlie was silent.

"Charles?" Maggie called her son by his given name. "Did you finish your homework?"

"Um…" Charlie looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Maggie pointed to the stairs, "Move it on up. You can come back down when you're done."

Charlie looked at his sister, then to Mulder, for salvation. Scully wouldn't acknowledge him and Mulder simply shrugged his shoulders. He grumbled and trudged up to his bedroom reluctantly and Margaret returned to the kitchen to clean the new 'bout of dishes.

Queequeg, who'd moved back into Mulder's lap, was picked up and put back on the floor. Mulder then thought it best to jump up too quickly for the dog to return to his new favorite resting spot. The dog looked at him for a few seconds, then walked over to the easy chair and jumped up into it.

Mulder then decided to curl up in his own favorite spot. Crawling over to the couch, he jumped up onto the opposite end that his girlfriend was sitting with her legs stretched out, her face buried in a book and glasses perched on her nose.

He squeezed in between her and the back of the couch, resting his head on her shoulder and draping an arm across her stomach.

Scully wrapped her own arm around his shoulder to get more comfortable, assuming he was going to stay there for awhile. "Your little friend disappears and suddenly _I'm _your number one choice for entertainment?" she asked sarcastically.

He nuzzled her shoulder with his nose, "You know you're always my number one." he mumbled.

Smiling, she ran a hand through his hair absently as she continued on with her book as they both grew quiet, content just to be near each other. It lasted for only a few moments before Scully turned her attention down to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her hand refusing to stop in his hair.

"Why wouldn't I be?" came the answer, muffled by his mouth partially buried in her robe.

"Your heart's beating like a drum. You think I can't feel it?" she chuckled as he buried his head in her shoulder completely.

Mulder went quiet for a bit, then tilted his head to look at her. "Can I ask you to consider something?"

Scully had gone back to her book and didn't meet his eyes, "You can ask me anything, Mulder."

She felt his hand move from around her stomach to hover over her book. When he opened it, an intricate sterling silver chain fell in front of the line she'd been reading. Just about a paragraph lower was what weighed it down. A chunky, complexly engraved ring with a huge amethyst centered in the middle of it. The side that was visible to her had the name 'Fox' etched into it.

Scully swallowed, "Your class ring?"

He pulled it back up like it was a yo-yo, "From my old school. I know it's old-fashioned, but I was wondering if you wanted to wear it? It's completely your decision, and I don't expect-" she pressed a finger over his lips to silence him.

"I'll wear it" she smiled, "…under one condition."

"You don't have to, Scully." he said again.

"Wait here." Scully pressed a kiss to his forehead and got up, climbing the stairs two at a time.

Mulder was suddenly very cold as he folded his arms to fight off the slight chill that enveloped him.

When she came back, she plopped down next to him with her palm open. Scully offered him her own, considerably less-chunky ring that had a giant emerald in it with her own name engraved on either side of the stone.

"Only if you wear mine." she whispered as she bit her bottom lip. That nervous look that he just loved to clear from her face warmed his heart as Mulder laughed and kissed her sweetly. Once he released her from the lip-lock, she slipped her ring over his third finger on his left hand.

"Oh, my, my!" he gasped falsely and held it up to watch it glimmer in the light.

"You're gay." Scully grinned as she poked him in the ribs. "I hope I didn't make you that way."

"My turn." he ignored the comment and motioned for her to turn around. She did so without another word and let him drape the garish ring around her neck happily. When she turned back around to him, he gave her one more quick kiss before they returned to the comfortable position they were in before, only now on opposite sides of the embrace.

Margaret watched the entire spectacle from the kitchen doorframe, neither teen knowing the wiser. She couldn't help the hand that came over her heart as she reminisced when she was that young and that happy. Smiling, she returned to the kitchen.

Silence filled the Scully household for all of about ten minutes. Ten minutes that the young lovebirds spent in each other's embrace. Once that ten minutes was up, five twenty-something males rushed the front door, dripping wet and cussing about said fact, with Bill Jr. as their leader.

Margaret returned to the living room and into the foyer, a look of surprise on her face as greeted her supposed new houseguests. "Bill, who are these people?"

"Mom, you know the guys: Danny, Frank, Brad, Tom, and Barney." Bill said with a smile.

"Yes, but why are they in my house?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Bill kept the cocky smile on his face, "C'mon Mom. It's a typhoon out there. Can't they spend the night?"

"Bill, I don't have room for all these people plus us. This isn't a halfway house for drowned rats." Margaret stated.

Mulder chuckled and Scully grinned like a moron. Maggie didn't necessarily have a mean bone in her body, but it was funny to see her try.

Bill kicked off his wet shoes and came into the living room where the couple sat grinning. A flash of irritation came over his face as he saw who was holding his sister. He turned back to his mother. "You're letting Mr. Popularity stay here?"

"Yes, but the difference is I _invited_ Mulder to stay." she sighed and ran her fingers through her short brown hair, "If your friends stay, they stay down here, in the living room. And that means camping out in here, too."

Her son bit his tongue. Scully got up before her brother got in the mood to fight with her because, frankly, she didn't want that kind of fight to happen in front of Mulder. If there was anything he didn't need to see, that was number one on her list.

She started for the kitchen, her boyfriend two steps behind, and passed the line-up of college guys that she'd remembered were ones to make cat-calls at anything that resembled a woman.

It seemed, however, at least Bill's friends had moved up the jackass totem pole. As Scully passed by Frank, She felt the large, unfamiliar hand hit her, not gently, on the rear end.

Scully froze, shocked and embarrassed simultaneously. Her shoulders rose in tension as she held herself and continued to walk.

She was willing to let it drop, but someone else wasn't.

Mulder shoved him into the wall, his elbow resting dangerously against Frank's windpipe. Frank writhed and gagged, obviously not as strong as his newfound opponent.

"You wanna try that again?" Mulder spoke with a venom Scully had never heard before now. It had her turning on her heels and going to his side, placing her hand on his curled arm.

"Mulder…" she said, barely audibly. He met her eyes, a deeply burning, perhaps eternal fire that she'd seen glimpses of over the past month she'd been in his life. That fire's power had increased ten-fold. "I don't feel like cleaning blood off the floor."

He bit his tongue and dropped his grip. Frank slid the floor, wheezing with broken pride.

Scully followed his journey to the floor with her eyes. She'd known Mulder was strong from the moment she met him, but she'd never been on the dark side of that strength. Making a mental note not to, she pulled him out to the kitchen without looking back.

"I wasn't gonna kill him, Scully. Just gonna rough him up a bit." The calm, cool Mulder she knew was back and smiling.

"Promise me you won't do that again." It wasn't a request, it was a statement.

Mulder leaned up against the counter and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I can't make that promise, Scully. I hope you understand that."

She stepped as close to him as she could without touching him. "You're not my bodyguard."

"I never said I was, but you're my girlfriend." he whispered.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked, a little angry now.

"I've never had one before, Scully. I don't know all the rules. I…" Mulder slouched, hanging his head. "I guess I always thought that a guy was supposed to defend his girl's honor."

Scully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before she folded her arms and looked down at her slippers, the hair she'd just fixed falling forward and into her eyes again. Biting her bottom lip again, she mumbled, "I'm your girl?"

Mulder chuckled, "I thought that's what this meant." he thumbed the ring that rested just a couple of inches below her little gold cross.

"It does." she nodded and picked up his left hand, watching the emerald glint in the light. "Just remember this is a two-way street."

He smiled, "That I can do." he stated and pulled her into a brief hug before they were greeted with Bill charging into the kitchen with Maggie hot on his heels.

"What the hell was that?" Bill asked.

"Not tonight, Bill." Scully rubbed her eyes, feeling a headache setting in.

"I wasn't talking to you, Dana." he turned his eyes on Mulder. "What gives you the right to suffocate one of my friends?"

"Your friend's actions. I agree I didn't handle the situation well, and I apologize for that." Mulder's calm voice was almost impossibly passive.

Bill nodded sarcastically, "You're sorry. _You're_ sorry. You should be thanking me for not beating you into a bloody pulp right now!"

Mulder shrugged, "Why beat me up when all I tried to do was defend your sister? If you haven't figured it out yet, Bill, I care about her."

"And if you don't think I havent figured _you_ out yet, you're wrong. You're a teenage guy, just like I was, and I can tell you the only thing we care about at that age is what a girl will do in the back of our four-by-four's."

Scully sank to the floor sometime in the midst of the argument. "If there's a God in Heaven, he'll kill me now." she whispered as she leaned against the cabinet for support.

Mulder kneeled down beside her, "Don't think like that, Scully. You know none of that's true."

She nodded, but the second two big, salty tears slipped from her eyes, Scully bolted out of the room and up the stairs. She buried herself under the covers of her bed, her head under the pillow, and, if she had it her way, wouldn't come out until late winter. Knowing that was impossible, she'd just have to be grateful for her current solitude.

Back downstairs, however, Mulder felt his heart crush into a million pieces. He hadn't moved from the spot he still occupied, right next to where Scully had been not five seconds ago. When he heard that door slam at the top of the stairs, the sounds resonated through his brain like a siren call. A call to go to her, to comfort her, and fix what he could of this mess.

"Where are you going? We're not done here yet." Bill stated as Mulder tried to leave, tugging on his shoulder to turn him around.

"Yeah, we are, Bill. I don't know what kind of game you think this is, but your sister's been torn to pieces with her emotions for weeks now, trying to get you to understand. I'm someone in school that a guy like you wouldn't associate with and you think I'm weird. Whoopdee-fricken'-doo. But I'm not going to stand here and say I'm sorry for falling for her just because you think I'm strange." Mulder said.

Bill, taken aback a little by the nobility of the other man's speech, drew one single detail out from all of it. "'Falling for her'? Do you love her?"

Mulder took several deep breaths before he answered, "If I say 'yes', you won't believe me and call me a liar. If I say 'no', you'll beat me up and throw me out in the street. There's no point." he finally shook his arm free and left the kitchen.

_**(X)**_

Scully rolled to face her alarm clock. The red numerals that stared back at her, taunting her.

_11:35_

After the small headache developed into a full-blown migraine, she told Mulder that she felt better about the whole thing and told him to go get some rest. That had been almost an hour ago now, and the pain behind her eyes had dulled to slow throb. She watched the clock intently as she laid on her stomach. She couldn't remember how long ago Queequeg had come in and curled into a ball on top of her, but he was sound asleep in the middle of her back.

_11:36_

"Ugh…" she rolled, startling Queequeg, to lay on her back. Scully pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes as her dog came up to comfort her. He licked her arm until she reached one hand out to absently stroke his head.

She couldn't deny it to herself anymore. How Bill reacted to the situation had cut her deeply. Did he really think _that_ little of her that she was nothing more than a good-time girl to Mulder? That she was at his beck and call 24/7? No job too big or too small? Did they really look that horribly mismatched?

_"Do you think the pair of you look that bad?"_

_"No, I actually think we look cute." _

_"Do you think any of what Bill said down there applies to Mulder?" _

_"Hell's bells in buckets, no." _

_"Do you even really CARE what Bill thinks anymore?" _

_"After tonight, God no." _

_"Then why are you still thinking about this?_

Playing with her new necklace, she leaned up against the wall. The dog had already buried himself under the still-warm covers. The rain still poured in buckets outside her window; the moon completely invisible by the cloud cover. Scully couldn't remember the last time her room looked that dark or, for that matter, that empty.

_11:37_

"Oh, screw it." she muttered to no one as she got up. She stepped out of her bedroom and shut the door behind her, knowing Queequeg wasn't going anywhere until she pried him out of her bed with the jaws of life in the morning. Her intent was to go down to the kitchen to heat herself up a glass of milk. Bill and his friends were no doubt passed out and scattered about the living room by now, so she wouldn't have to deal with them. She knew there was about zero chance of her actually going back to sleep, but she couldn't say she didn't try.

Scully walked by Mulder's room, then back-tracked when she saw the dim glow of a lamp from the crack where the door and the frame didn't meet. Tip-toeing up to it, she peeked through the narrow space. It was possible he'd fallen asleep with the light on. She just hoped it wasn't true.

All she could see was the big bed that he wasn't in. She opened the door a little wider, enough to slip inside and close it quietly behind her.

Mulder sat by the window, presumably watching the rain fall or the occasional lightening streak. He sat in pajama pants that he'd went and got out of the convenient duffel bag he remembered he had in the truck and no shirt. His back was to her, giving her the time she wanted to admire the view.

After a few moments, she sneaked up behind him and wrapped her hands over his eyes. Scully felt his chuckle, but she remained silent.

He sighed, "Oh, how I hate this game. But I think I know who this is."

She smiled, but still didn't make a sound.

Mulder smiled, "Come to seduce me in the middle of the night? How very bad romance novel of you."

Scully smacked him on the head as she came around to his side.

"What are you doing up this late?" he asked.

She trailed a hand lightly over his shoulder and went to sit on the bed. "Couldn't sleep and, except for where the dog was laying on my back, I got cold again."

He gave her a disbelieving look. "I've never met anyone in my life who is as cold you claim to be."

Her mouth fell open. "I swear to God I was never cold before I met you and now I'm cold all the damn time."

"Sure you were." he said sarcastically, but he rose and sat down next to her on the end of the bed.

Scully shrugged, "Maybe I just like your hugs. Why are you up this late?"

Mulder wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I've had sleep-issues since I was little. I never slept in my bed, and I was always on the couch. Even when I was asleep, I was a misfit."

"You're not anymore." she whispered.

"Yeah, I'm still insomniac." Mulder stated.

"No, not that, I meant you're not a misfit anymore." she got up quietly and went to his bag that was resting in the corner.

He scooted back up to the pillows in an attempt to get more comfortable. "What do you mean?"

Scully pulled out a black sleep shirt. It was a bit of a contrast to his blue and green pants, but who really cared? "You can probably say it more beautifully than I can." she said as she tossed it in his direction.

"I wanna hear how you see it. If you don't think I'm a misfit, than explain that reasoning to me. It doesn't have to be poetic." Mulder said as he pulled the shirt over his head. He knew it wasn't for her sake, but whoever might walk in on them might get the wrong idea with two teenagers alone in a bedroom at night and one didn't have a shirt on.

Scully sighed as she kneeled on the bed next to him, his hazel eyes holding her lighter ones. "A misfit is somebody doesn't belong anywhere. I don't know about you, but I know there's somewhere you belong. I figured out it's the same place I do."

She felt his eyes falter, if only for an instant. "Which is where?" he asked.

Climbing into his lap to face him, Scully wrapped her arms and legs around his torso, just as she had earlier that same day. "I think you belong right here." she whispered as she tucked his head under her chin.

Mulder smiled as he placed his own hands on her narrow back. "And so do you."

He soon felt her breathing even out and her head grew heavy on top of his own. Once his legs started to go numb, he rolled her onto her back, and she automatically rolled to her side, her back to him. Mulder tried to fight the urge, but the battle was over before it began. He spooned up next to her, took a long sniff of her hair, and soon fell into a deep, blissful sleep himself.

That's how Scully's mother would find them come morning, but Mulder couldn't bring himself to move.

* * *

_**As always, my door's open to suggestions. I know this chapter is kinda frustrating, especially Mulder's little speech to Bill, but how else am I gonna get you guys to review if I don't make you a little irritated with me. XD**_

**_Please review because my fingers are too tired to type anything else at the moment :)_**


	11. Haven

_**Kay, so here I am, listening to Lady Gaga as I write this because I love her and that's just the way I roll XD. I really don't know where this came from, but it was a muse, and I ran with it. That's pretty much the same thing that happens with any of these chapters. **_

_**This one's dedicated to the 'shippers out there. XD**_

**__****P.S. That one section IS suppose to be in itallics and you'll learn why once you read :)**

_**Chapter Eleven:**_

Scully lingered near Monica's lab station in second period Chemistry. John had taken off with his parents to a family reunion down in Georgia, so she felt obligated to entertain her goofy friend. Mulder watched the interaction between the two females for a moment before Monica pointed him out.

"Hey, Foxy Cleopatra." Monica smiled as she punched him in the arm lightly as he walked over.

Mulder, who didn't possess as much enthusiasm that morning as she had, returned the favor. "Hey, Reyes."

The darkness in his tone didn't go unnoticed. "Mulder, are you okay?" Scully asked with concern. The dark circles that ringed his eyes didn't reassure her that everything was hunky-dory.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Didn't sleep very well last night and today hasn't started off so great."

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, but I wouldn't turn down a world-famous Scully-hug if one came my way." Mulder gave her a sad smile.

Scully didn't hesitate as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, not caring what the world around her thought or did. "You know I've always got one with your name on it." she mumbled as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Can I…" he trailed off, thinking against what he was about to ask her.

"Can you what?" she asked.

"Can you come home with me tonight? I mean, could we just hang out tonight, or are you busy?" he asked with a small tremor in his voice that didn't go unnoticed by the woman that was holding him.

Scully looked up into Mulder's eyes, knowing something wasn't right. The light that usually stared into her soul, warming it, refused to grace her with it's presence today. Instead, those same eyes were cold and in pain. It was as if Mulder was being tortured by something inside him.

"I'm all yours." she replied as the bell rang and they were forced to take their seats.

_**(X)**_

_The rain that had plagued Maryland for the last several days had finally dissipated, but the clouds which had brought it to them still lingered, not allowing the sunlight to break the dome they had covered the city in. It went in perfect accordance to what Scully had been feeling that day._

_Since Chemistry class had ended she'd been in a total funk. When the bell had rang, signaling the end of class to overjoyed students, Mulder had gotten up from their table and mumbled something about seeing her later. It left her with an empty feeling she couldn't shake. Where was his usual routine of kissing her forehead and giving her a quick half-hug before he headed out with a smile on his face?_

_When he didn't show up for lunch in their little corner by the awards case, she really started to worry. She knew she wouldn't see him for the rest of the day if she didn't see him at lunch, and she kept hoping he would come around if even only for a soda, but he didn't. And now, as she drove through the dismal weather in her black Impala to his house, she felt as though a dark fist had clamped itself around her heart. He was hurting emotionally, but she remembered what that caused him to want to do physically._

_His truck was already parked in the driveway as she pulled in behind him. The damp weather threatened her with a biting chill the second she opened the door. Scully wasn't necessarily in the warmest of clothes either. A white button-up blouse and jeans didn't do much to fight off the post-winter-pre-spring air. But as she climbed the steps to the front door, Scully had a worse chill that made her veins run cold and a deep, sinking feeling in her stomach._

_"Mulder?" she called out as she closed the door behind her and shrugging her backpack to one shoulder. His own bag and leather jacket sat at the foot of the stairs. Even though Scully had never been upstairs in his house and he usually stayed on the ground-floor, the premonitory sense that had been guiding her from her car told her to take the steps two at a time and hurry._

_"Mulder?" she called again, knowing he was here somewhere. Scully made it to the top of the stairs and looked down the hallway to see a door opened just a little bit and a bright fluorescent light shining from it._

_Approaching it with the same caution and slight hesitation she had her own guest bedroom just a few nights ago, she nudged the door open just enough to see inside._

_"Mulder?" she whispered this time._

_He watched himself in the mirror, his eyes flickering to her in invitation, then back to himself. His right hand wrapped an ace bandage around his left wrist. The small speck of red on the edge of white porcelain told her everything she needed to know._

_Scully felt her knees weakening. She gripped the doorframe to steady herself, but failed in doing so. If she had anything in her stomach, she would've undoubtedly thrown-up. Instead the world just went black._

_**(X)**_

"Scully. Scully, wake up. It's okay." Mulder held her writhing body in a loose embrace, encouraging her to wake up from the nightmare.

Her eyes shot open and, realizing the person that she was next to, she backed away from him in terror. "You promised. You promised me you wouldn't!" she screamed.

"Wouldn't what, Scully? What have I done?" he asked, confused.

She paused for a moment at the innocent look on his face. "What the…" Scully grabbed his left wrist and turned it so it was palm up. Examining it carefully, there were no new marks or scars other than the ones that were already there from past experiences. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Tell me I dreamed all that. That you ignored me all day and when I came here you'd slashed your wrist. Tell me it's all in my mind."

He looked down in his lap guiltily. "I did ignore you most of the day, and I'm sorry. The second part you imagined all on your own."

"How…" she rubbed her sore eyes. "How did I get here?"

"Don't you remember? I asked you to come here after school and by the time you got here I'd already fallen asleep. You must've done the same."

She scanned the room. They were, in fact, on Mulder's bed in his basement room. Her mind floated back to his earlier sentiment as she met his eyes again. "Why did you ignore me today?"

Mulder drew his knees up to his chest and folded his arms on top of them. Even though nothing seemed real right now, she knew that pain was truer than any that she'd experienced in her life to that point. The look in his eyes as placed his head on top of his folded limbs was that of a haunted soul, and she immediately knew what was wrong.

"Your sister." the simple two words resounded through the room like she'd just shouted them off the cliff of a mountain.

"Today's the day the police came to the door. Before this day five years ago…there was hope before it, but today…" He trailed off and buried his head on his arms. Mulder refused to let himself cry in front of her. Since he was little, his father told him that crying was a sign of weakness, and Mulder men weren't weak. It was the one thing he'd never allowed himself to do in front of anybody.

Scully moved back up to the pillows and leaned against the wall behind them. Straightening out her already ruffled shirt, she tapped him on the shoulder and patted the space next to her invitingly.

"Come here." she whispered and he followed, ending up in the increasingly familiar position of his head on her shoulder as she stroked his hair.

"I know I should've told you this morning, but I just couldn't find the right words." Mulder mumbled into the collar of her shirt and pulled her closer. "It's just hard to talk about."

"I get it, Mulder. Don't think I don't." Scully whispered softly. "I have siblings too, and despite how much I'd like to distance myself from them at the moment, I can't fathom losing one of them like that."

He mumbled something else that Scully didn't quite catch. "What was that?"

"It doesn't help when your family gives up on you, either." he repeated.

Scully's vision blurred as she had the strangest sense that they'd never talked like this before. "I'm sure that's not true, Mulder."

He snorted, "Look around you, Scully. I'm in a four bedroom, not including my own, house all by myself for about twelve hours every day. And I'm usually only awake for about two or three of those. I live in the basement by choice. It's not exactly the idyllic American family around here." Mulder scooted up to lay by her side and look her in the eyes. "It's why I like your family so much and why I'm happy that most of them like me back."

Her eyes blurred even more until they cleared a bit when two fat drops fell from her eyes. She'd never known the extent of his loneliness before. "It fills the void?" she barely breathed.

Mulder took her hand in his, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. "I guess you could say that. Isolation is never anybody's choice."

"But you've wondered, haven't you?" she asked.

"I've wondered a lot of things, be more specific." he countered.

Scully sat up, not wanting to see his eyes when she asked the hard question. "Have you ever wondered what the world would be like…without you in it?"

She'd struck a nerve, and a painful one at that. Almost every teenager at one point or another has asked themselves a similar question. Some contemplated the idea, some thought it was good, some thought it was bad. But she had to know.

"If you mean 'have I ever thought about it?', yes, I have." Mulder buried his own head in his hands as he spoke. "Did I used to think it was a good idea? Yeah, I did. Before I met you, I did a lot of stupid things that I don't do now."

"Like what?" she prodded further, even when in her heart she knew she didn't want to continue down that path.

Mulder got up and walked around to her side and sat at the foot, facing her. "If I tell you, will you promise not to think less of me?"

Scully knew those big puppy-dog eyes were unintentional, but it didn't stop her from melting under that gaze. "You're not up on any pedestal with me, Mulder. Whatever you tell me, I won't hold it against you, nor will I repeat it, if you don't want me to."

He breathed deeply and sank to the floor. "You already know about my scars, they're the most apparent, but the sting didn't always take away all of that pain, if even for a short time. My friends and I back home used to drink whatever we could find. Tequila, vodka, beer, wine, whiskey, you name it. You'd be _amazed_ at how easily teenagers can get a hold of alcohol. My parents never knew, even though they were around a little more than they are now. And when they told me we were moving, I knew things would only get worse in that department. I actually thought I might go through with it the night they told me that."

Scully propped her head up on her arm, the tears now coming slowly but steadily. She didn't want to hear any of this, she really didn't. The simple fact was, however, that all of what he was telling her was part of him and she had to accept it. It was the single reason she kept her ears open.

Mulder continued, "I chickened out at the last second and just went to bed. Every night after that, I stood in that bathroom and tried, really tried to finally do it, but each time I just couldn't get up the courage. After a week of that, we moved here and my first day of school I meet you."

Her fingers twirled the smaller of the two necklaces she wore around in circles nervously. "What happened after you met me? What was the turning point of meeting me?"

He looked down at his thumbnails as they absently picked at one another. If he turned his hands a quarter-turn, the immortal reminders of his adolescent pain could be seen. Now, when he knew better, he wished those last few years had never happened. Mulder knew now that it was a stupid and immature way of trying to garner attention from his preoccupied paternal figures. People didn't just take a razor to their wrist without reason. But what the woman next to him had been for him was a little more than what he thought she could grasp.

"I don't think you're ready for that." Mulder whispered, then got up and headed for the stairs. Going into the kitchen, he was sure she hadn't followed. He didn't feel her eyes on him as he went to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. He knew better than to eat anything today. If he did, it would just come back up in the most unpleasant of ways.

"You can't do that." Scully said from the doorway.

He should've expected this. "Can't do what, exactly?"

"Have me hanging on every word that comes out you only for you to not finish what you started." If she wasn't running on empty, emotionally and mentally, she would've been angry or have shouted the sentiment. Her lack of fuel was half of the reason she kept her voice so quiet. The other half was not wanting to upset him any more than he already was.

"Dana…" He whispered as he leaned back against the counter.

His use of her first name had thrown her off a little, but only for a second. "Fox, you know me. I'm not a parrot, nor am I a gossip. You can talk to me." Scully was directly in front of him now, her arms folded and teetering from her heels to the balls of her feet; another nervous tendency she was cursed with.

Mulder searched her eyes, finding nothing but an unyielding honesty in those beautiful orbs. Standing up to full height again, he gently held his hand out to her. Catching his message, she let his large hand engulf her much smaller one.

"What you are to me…is what a lighthouse is to a ship on a dark, foggy night. A guiding light in the otherwise black and dismal world I live in. " his other hand came up to catch the stray tear that fell from her eye. "I've never let anyone get this close because it seems every time I try to love someone, they just seem to not care enough to return the favor. It's a slap in the face."

Scully's eyes had been locked onto his since the keyword in his statements struck the chord within her. She'd been waiting and waiting for that word to come around. She was certain she probably looked like the most unlovable person in the world right at that moment. Her face was red and puffy as the tears continued to leak out, her disheveled shirt and mussed hair were most-likely not helping the look either. But she searched those eyes, staring straight into him as if she were looking down into the recesses of his soul. She came up with no other emotion but the complete adoration she saw that was so apparent it could've been wearing a neon sign. Her throat went as dry as a desert when she tried to speak, of course, so she sounded like a strangled frog. Instead of laughing, he just waited patiently for her to try again.

Licking her lips, Scully took the biggest gamble of her life so far. "Are…are you trying to say that you love me?"

He sighed, more than a little relieved that it was out there now, as he cupped her wet cheeks in his hands. "More than you could ever imagine."

Her whole body trembled as she let out a sigh on a small smile. "Mulder…" she whispered.

Mulder tensed as he let go of her hand. A look of embarrassment flashed over his eyes as he realized he was making a mistake. "I'm so sorry I put you on the spot like that. Forget I ever said that."

If Scully's heart wasn't pounding in her rib cage like a jackhammer, she might've let him get away with the pathetic apology and dismissal. His last statement, insincere and full of disappointment, didn't hold as much passion as his admission. She might not have known a lot in this area, but she knew when someone was lying.

She pulled him back to her, took both of his hands, and placed one on her neck and the other high up on her chest. Scully watched his eyebrows meet his hairline as he felt the slamming from both her heart and the artery.

"You can take back whatever you say, but know what's going on in here. Nothing has ever made me feel like this before and you can't stand there and tell me you don't think it's you who's doing this to me, because we both know it's a lie."

His thumb brushed against her cheek as she continued. "You're so different, Mulder. You're tough and sensitive, passionate and easy-going. And when I'm with you…,you just make me feel so special. To be perfectly honest, sometimes I actually even believe you when you tell me I'm beautiful." Even more tears escaped her eyes, leaving her to wonder when the well would run dry. "God, my heart is beating so hard."

Mulder smiled his first smile of the day, "I don't mean to sound rude or put pressure on you, but are you trying to say something here as well?"

Scully nodded. She looked up, meeting his eyes for the first time since she started her monologue. "I love you, too, Mulder. And I think I finally found out what it feels like to be in it."

He leaned his forehead into hers, "What's it feel like?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist with a tenderness she didn't know she had until now. "Like a seventh heaven. A sanctuary where you know there's someone who won't persecute you or question you. Where there's someone who cares. " she whispered. "I can't believe I didn't know how much I cared back until right now."

Mulder felt the palpitations of his own heart and pulse now as he scooped her up into his arms and spun her around. "It's our safe haven, Scully, and it's right here in these hugs."

Scully giggled like the love-struck teenage girl she now was and wrapped her legs around his waist to support herself. When he set her back down, he caught her lips in the most frantic and passionate kiss they'd had yet. Hands raced up and down the other's back and through hair even as they kept their eyes trained in a deadlock stare.

They were both so wrapped up in the other, the sound of clearing female throat was almost fell on deaf ears. Scully blushed a deep shade of red when she turned to see a woman of about thirty or forty had came into the kitchen.

"Nice shade of lip gloss there, son." she said cheerily.

Mulder absently wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand as he looked from woman to woman. Not exactly sure how to proceed, he went with the obvious.

"Mom, this is Dana Scully. Dana, this is my mother, Teena."

* * *

_**So...what do you think? I know it's kind of a stretch to see Mulder as a drunk, and trust me, I don't want to build on it too much unless you guys want me to. DanH2010 has given me a couple ideas I wanna try to run too, but I just thought it was about time for this. It's been a month and their lives are already so deeply entertwined with one another. These are just a couple of things that teens are prone to do. Me being one of them, as everyone is at one point or another, I hear plenty of drunken stories and people falling in love.**_

**_I am going to continue this day though...if I get enough reviews to do so. XD_**


	12. Lost in Translation

_**So, I'm willing to put money on this one royally sucking, but I was already halfway done with it and I decided to just finish it off. It's almost midnight and my eyes are starting to hurt. I hope you guys think it's better than I do. **_

_**Chapter Twelve:**_

Scully blushed a bright cherry red as she smoothed down her hair and held her hand out to the older woman. "Mrs. Mulder, it's a pleasure."

Teena shook the proffered hand firmly. "Oh, trust me dear, the pleasure is all mine. I've been telling Fox for years he needs another woman in his life besides me."

"Mo-om." Mulder whined, believing the embarrassment wouldn't have started right away.

"Oh, relax, Fox. Sometimes I swear you're just as tense as your father." Teena shook her head and ruffled her son's hair. She chuckled at the look of disgust on his face and walked out into the living room.

"She seems nice." Scully whispered.

"She is nice, so is my dad for the most part, I just wish they were around more. She and my dad would rather avoid today at all costs though, which probably has something to do with her attitude. They don't even talk about it, like the world would end if they think about it too hard. Watch; in the next few minutes, she'll come back in here and tell me her and my father have dinner plans and that she's ordered pizza for me and it should be here in about twenty minutes, then fly back out the door again." Mulder mumbled back. His hands had started an unconscious dance against her hips that brought butterflies up to her stomach.

Scully looked at him incredulously. "Come on and be serious. Your mom can't be _that _predictable."

"Wanna bet?" he asked as saw Teena's figure come to the doorway.

"Fox…" she started.

"You and dad are going to dinner, pizza's on the way, don't stay up too late. Am I right?" he counted off on his fingers.

Teena smiled, "Have a good night, son." And with that, she was gone.

Scully's jaw dropped as she turned back to him. "You have _that _kinda freedom?" she asked.

"What kinda freedom?" he asked.

"The 'I-don't-care-what-you-do-as-long-as-I-don't-get-a-call-from-the-cops' kinda freedom. 'Be good and don't do anything I wouldn't' and you're on your own?" she said as a bit of shock crept into her voice.

"Pretty much." he responded with a shrug.

"Wow." she breathed. Scully had never known a life beyond checking in every hour. She would've given her right arm to experience it for a day. But the way Mulder's head hung told her that he would give same arm to be in her shoes.

"Yeah. When I lived in New York, I used to go around and cause mischief because there wasn't much else to do and I didn't have anyone that I cared about enough to clean myself up for. Now that I've got you here, I don't want to disappoint you." he kissed her knuckle softly to punctuate his statement.

Scully thought about this sentiment for a long moment before she replied. "All I ask of you is that you don't stop being yourself. I fell for _you_, and not who you want to be." Just then the front doorbell rang. "How about pizza?"

He grinned as he went to greet the likely miserable pizza delivery guy.

_**(X)**_

The weekend came faster then anyone anticipated. The heavy rain looked like it was a thing of the past to Maryland now as the sun was bright in the wide blue sky. People in the neighborhood started putting together trampolines and filling the blue plastic pools that took up most anyone's yard.

At the Scully house, however, Bill Sr. and Maggie took Charlie out of town to have braces put on his teeth from one of her father's old Navy buddies who turned doctor. It left Scully alone in the house by herself from nine that morning to about five that night.

While she thought she was going to relish the newfound 'alone time', she found herself bored by noon. She'd already ran four miles on the treadmill in the basement, ate, and called Monica, who had a virus and really didn't feel like talking.

She thought about the different places she could go, but her car had a flat tire that she _really_ wasn't looking forward to fixing in the near future. She also thought about that Geometry project that was due in a month, but she refused to believe she was that desperate.

She had to wonder if she really was this boring of a person not to think of anything to do. It had her quickly realizing Mulder's point about loneliness. She couldn't imagine doing this seven days a week: sitting on the couch with nothing but your own thoughts to entertain you.

It was the thought of him that had her looking over at the phone longingly, wishing it would ring and he'd be on the other end. She reached for it, but then retracted her hand. Calling him up in the middle of the day with nothing to say would make her sound stupid and desperate for human contact.

But, then again, how many of those calls had he made to her already? Two, maybe three dozen? Once couldn't sound that bad.

Picking up the phone, she dialed with lightening speed and waited for an answer on the other end. What only, in reality, took a couple of seconds, the rings seemed to stretch out into minutes.

"Come on, Mulder. Answer the phone, answer the phone, answer the phone." she chanted the mantra as she tapped her fingernails on the coffee table along with the impatient beat. Scully closed her eyes and drummed her head against the couch cushions, then heard the click.

"Yo." his familiar voice comforted her, shielded her against the silence.

"What up, Dawg?" she replied in the gangster tone of voice he'd greeted her with.

"Not a whole lot. How about on your end? Anything interesting happening over there?" she heard him toss something hard onto something padded, presumably his sketchbook to his bed.

"Nope. My parents took Charlie to the orthodontist across the state, so I'm all alone here." Scully breathed a heavy sigh.

If he was a dog, his ears would've stood straight up in shock. A slow smile spread across his lips, "Really? A beautiful woman all alone in the house on this bright, sunny day? That's such a shame."

She smiled as well. "Doesn't have to be that way. And said woman was actually in the mood for a little company." Scully flirted.

"Actually, I was about to call you. I was wondering if you'd model for me?" he said.

Her brows furrowed, "Model what?"

"Not really what, but my grandparents just sent down my photography gear from New York and we really don't have any good pictures of us." Mulder stated.

"Yeah, and there's a reason for that. I don't do pictures." she said as she twirled a strand of hair on her fingertips.

"What? What do you mean you don't do pictures?"

"I'll do school photographs because it's necessary, but other than that, I've never been friends with a camera. I've got these huge freckles and big buck teeth…" she trailed off as the doorbell rang. "Hang on a second."

Scully pressed the phone into her chest to block out the shuffling sound and opened the front door. Standing there, with a giant bag slung over his shoulder, Mulder sported a black t-shirt and worn-out jeans despite the nice weather.

"Hola, Senorita." he smiled as he flipped his phone shut and stepped around her to set the bag on the floor.

"I think not." she said as she examined the bag, already knowing what it contained.

"Please?" Mulder asked with a very faked pout.

"No, and you can say 'please' till the cows come home, but I won't do it." she stepped around him and headed back into the kitchen. If she'd known he had a photo shoot in mind, she wouldn't have bothered to call.

"I'll make it worth your while." he offered as he followed her.

"You apparently don't know how much I loathe having my picture taken then. You can't get me to do it." Scully stated as she pushed herself up to sit on the counter.

Mulder grinned at her stubbornness. He didn't think this was going to be an easy feat just from the tone in her voice over the phone. Stepping in between her knees, he leaned over to her ear, "You haven't heard what I have to offer yet."

She breathed him in, but refused herself the luxury of the sigh. "What do you have to offer?"

"Model for me, and I'll be your slave for a week." he smiled again.

Scully stared at him blankly for a minute. "Seriously?"

"As serious as it gets, babe."

A very slow, very deliberate smile came over her own features. "What exactly would that entail?" she asked.

"Whatever you want it to entail. Will you do it?" he asked again with pleading eyes.

She bit her lip as she thought about it. It wasn't her fault she didn't like to have her picture taken. It was her parents and grandparents faults for making her do it so much when she was little that she just rather not when anyone asked anymore. In every single photograph since the time she was born, she was dressed up like a porcelain doll in frilly dresses and impossible hairstyles (when she finally got hair on her head, that is) and nothing looked realistic.

Then when she got older, she needed braces, had freckles, and couldn't manage to make her hair do anything except curl up in an afro-do. That was middle school, and anyone who tried to take a camera to her during that time was as good as dead.

Scully still didn't feel comfortable staring down the dark glass of a photo lens, and anyone else and she would've said 'no' instantly. But Mulder made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

"Where do you want me?" she asked with an exasperated sigh, then thought over her sentence. "That sounded wrong."

He cocked an eyebrow at her as she laughed, "Get your mind out of the gutter, for starters. And I think under that tree in your backyard is a lovely place to want you."

She smacked him on the back of the head as she hopped down from the counter. "Pervert." she muttered.

Mulder ran back to the living room to grab his bag, calling out, "But, I'm _your_ pervert." as he went.

Scully smiled. "You got that right." she laughed as she followed him out into the yard.

_**(X)**_

After a half hour of posing and readjusting, Scully was surprised to learn how professional Mulder was about the whole thing. He acted like a real photographer might with a real model. She would never admit it, but it wasn't as bad as she had anticipated.

"So now what? You go to your little dark room to develop them?" she asked. The camera was quite old-fashioned compared to today's 'one gigabyte of memory per toothpick' technology.

"Yeah, I do have the stuff set up in one of the guestrooms for a…" Mulder trailed off as he listened intently. Scully listened in, too, trying to hear what he heard.

It didn't take long for them to recognize a rhythmic thumping against either the floor or the wall; which they couldn't tell. They looked at each other for a second, then going to look out the window.

"That's Bill's truck." Scully whispered.

"Sounds like he's having fun." Mulder commented.

"Oh, you can't be serious." she hissed under her breath.

"Listen…" They waited a long moment before they heard the unmistakable sound of a feminine moan.

Scully's mouth fell open as she looked up at the ceiling blankly. "Oh, my God."

Mulder, who felt especially cheeky that day, poked her in the shoulder to regain her attention. "Wanna scare the crap out of 'em?"

She exhaled, "What the hell are you suggesting? Jump out of the closet and say 'surprise'?"

He laughed, "No, no, they don't think anybody's home, otherwise they wouldn't have stayed here to do…well _that_." Mulder gestured vaguely towards the stairs. "Whenever I stayed with my older cousin in New York and he brought home a girl, I'd crank the volume on the stereo and be listening to Judas Priest or something, just to wreck the mood."

Scully looked at him quizzically, then asked. "_'Electric Eye'_?"

He backed up from her, wide-eyed, "How did you know that?"

"It only makes sense. _'_I'm always watching, you can't feel my stare'. It'd be creepy enough." she bit her thumbnail as she considered what he was saying.

"Wait a minute." he held a hand up to quiet her, "How do you know about classic heavy metal?"

She smiled, "Call it a guilty pleasure. And Bill's been pissing me off to no end lately." Scully looked from him to the ceiling, then back to him. "I think my 'Megadeth' CD is around here somewhere."

He followed her to the stereo and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"You never let a day go by without saying so anymore." she deadpanned as she flipped through her library.

"I do. Very much so." Mulder nuzzled her shoulder.

"I love you, too." she rubbed one of his arms with her free hand. The other pushed the disc in, pressed 'play', and threw the volume switch.

_You take a mortal man_

_And put him in control_

_Watch him become a god_

_And watch people's heads a'roll_

_A'roll_

_A'roll_

_Just like the Pied Piper_

_Led rats through the streets_

_We dance like marionettes,_

_Swaying to the symphony_

_Of destruction_

The two teenagers chanted the lyrics along with the gruff lead singer and danced around like people possessed. They were so lost in their own little world, they hadn't really noticed Bill had come in until he turned the music down. He seemed completely unsuspicious looking. So much so that if Mulder and Scully hadn't heard what was going on upstairs, the probably wouldn't even have guessed.

"What the hell are you two doing? You want to be arrested for disturbing the peace?" he shouted at them, who were still grinning like idiots.

"It sounds to me _you'd_ be the one arrested for disturbing the peace. Or did you forget how thin the walls are in this house, Bill?" Scully asked, the grin still not really leaving her face even though Mulder's was long gone.

Her older brother blushed a deep tomato-red and looked at the floor. Embarrassment completely took over his features and his demeanor.

"Can I meet her, Bill?" his sister asked innocently.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." he mumbled.

"Well, it's not like there's any secrets hanging in the air anymore, is there?" Scully asked, half-jokingly, until she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

Wrapped in a bedsheet, one Scully remembered folding several hundred times with the laundry wrapped around a young blonde woman. Her hair stuck to her reddened face, but that wasn't what caught the younger couples attention. It was rather apparent and large belly she bore. One that was obviously not accumulated by over-eating.

"Tara, I told you to stay upstairs." Bill didn't follow his sister's gaze, but merely spoke to the floor.

"Well, I'm sorry if it's awkward for me to lie down for any length of time." she said sarcastically. She walked into the living room where Scully still watched her, dumbstruck, and Mulder tried to snap her out of it by squeezing her shoulder.

Tara smiled a little despite the situation, and held out the hand that didn't hang onto the sheet for dear life. "Hi, I'm Tara. Nice to meet you."

Scully was still in shock, so Mulder took up the pleasantry. "Fox Mulder. A pleasure. This is Dana Scully, Bill's younger sister. She's apparently catatonic right now."

When she still didn't come out of it, Mulder poked her in both sides, hitting the nerves that made her flinch

and come back to reality. "Um…ugh…hi." she finally said.

"Hi." she replied and pushed a hair out of her face.

"Dana, you can stop staring at her stomach any time now." Bill muttered. He seemed to be doing that more and more lately.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't mean to seem crude or anything, but…" Scully trailed off, not knowing how to complete her statement.

Tara laughed and looked down at her swollen stomach. "Yeah, I am pregnant. I know I'm pretty young, but I've just always wanted a child."

Scully smiled back in sympathy. She was quite fond of kids herself. "Is it…?"

"Yeah, it's Big Bill's." she smiled happily and rubbed his arm.

"Ah…" Scully nodded and seemed to be at ease with the situation.

Mulder knew her better than this by now, though. Scully got really quiet when she was upset or when she was lost in thought. He also knew the aftermath of either emotion didn't necessarily make a happy day for him. Placing both of his hands on her shoulders, hoping the warmth would seep into her and calm her.

It didn't seem that that was an option today though. "Um, Bill? Could I talk to you for a minute?" Scully pointed to the kitchen.

"Uh…I guess." he followed her retreating back, leaving Mulder and Tara to look at each other.

"Um…I'm just gonna go get dressed." Tara said with a nervous chuckle.

"Probably for the best." he replied and watched to make sure she didn't trip on the sheet, then pressed his ear to the kitchen door.

"Bill, when the hell were you going to tell any of us?" Scully asked nonchalantly.

Bill bit the inside of his cheek before he responded. "In all honesty, I wasn't going to tell anyone. Tara was fine with what was going on before you and your hoodlum had to come home." he mumbled as he sat down at the kitchen table.

She shook her head, "Why hide it, Bill? The one thing Mom always told us she wanted was grandchildren and you're about to give her the first."

"It's not that simple, Dana!" he started to shout because he didn't know what else to do. "I'm going into the Navy come autumn. What am I supposed to do then?"

"Well, the least you could've done was told me." Scully folded her arms and looked him straight in the eye. "I'm your sister, Bill, your own flesh and blood. Hell, we shared a bedroom together at one point. If you can't trust me with your problems, who can you trust?"

He ran his hands through his hair and stared down at the table. "I'm sorry, Danes, but it's hard to trust anyone who doesn't trust you back."

"Oh, come on. Please don't tell me were gonna start this again." she rubbed her eyes absently.

"How about you just tell me. Why don't you trust me, Dana?" he continued, trying to shift the focus away from himself.

"Because your belief is based on your damned alpha-male instinct to protect your baby sister. I get it, Bill, don't think I don't. The difference is Mulder and I haven't done anything that constitutes as bad behavior, nor has he given you any reason to make you think otherwise. You just need to let me have my own life." she said.

"If you want your own life, then you've gotta stay out of mine." he growled.

That struck a nerve, "I _do _let you have your own life. The only time I see my big brother anymore is when he drops by to eat with us at random or spend the night when he's gotten himself into trouble. And Mom and Dad just think the world of you and that you can do no wrong." Tears sprang into her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "Neither can Missy. You both got a free ride down 'Easy Street' whereas I'm just working my way through Death Valley. Charlie's already getting the third degree on his own friends; they've decided to start early this time around."

"Danes,…" he whispered.

"Don't." she said solidly despite the small quiver in her lip. "I've kept secrets for you before, but this isn't exactly 'I'm-high-don't-tell-Mom' material. It's just a matter of do you want to tell her or should I?"

"Ugh…" Bill groaned in frustration, then pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. "Jus-just don't say anything. I'll tell them this week, I promise. I just gotta figure out what I'm gonna say."

"Seven days. If they don't know by then, I gotta say something." she turned her back to him to stare out the window above the sink.

"Fine…fine, you'll know when I do it then, I suppose." he stormed straight out of the house, being followed by a confused-looking Tara.

Mulder peeked into the kitchen to see Scully bent over the sink, supporting herself on her hands. A shock like that could probably make anyone a little weak in the knees. He knew he'd been found out when she crooked a finger behind her and motioned from him to come closer. Before she even knew it she was wrapped up in his arms.

"He broke the vow." she shook he head as a tear plopped down into the basin.

"Sorry?" he murmured into her hair.

She leaned into him. "I went to Catholic School before I came to Georgetown High. They don't really _teach _you about sex. They just ask you if you promise not to have it until you get married. Some girls in my class thought it was a sin even after you tied the knot. All of us have, but now nobody really expects you to keep that vow." she whispered because she couldn't find her voice. "It's meaningless to everyone anymore."

"I think it's respectable." Mulder bent down and rested his head against her shoulder.

She actually chuckled a little, "You don't have to say that for my sake, Mulder. I'm not saying that I'm going to be a virgin until I'm married, I don't think anybody in our class is anymore except me." she rolled a kink out of her neck and he moved in closer. "Missy told me I'd know when the time was right."

"Like a sixth sense?" he asked.

"I suppose, but I sometimes wonder if she overstated her first time. Maybe I'm really gullible in that respect." Scully smiled as she reminisced the night her sister came home at four in the morning with a permanent smile etched on her face.

"What do you mean?" Mulder asked as he turned her around to hold her more completely.

"According to her, Melissa's first time was idyllic with candles and red roses and a full moon, but she came home with gum in her hair and she smelled like the inside of a Crown Victoria." Scully bit her bottom lip as she spoke, a faint gleam in her eye.

Mulder just laughed and held her closer. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm pretty happy right where we are for the time being."

"Me too. Just let things happen naturally, right?" she asked rhetorically.

"When you have your whole life in front of you, what's the rush?" he asked.

She didn't answer him, and instead just let him hold her, completely content with where she was.

* * *

_**I have to thank DanH2010 for the inspiration for this chapter, despite however badly I might have written it. And need I remind you that you need to review to get me to the point where I want to write. This would've been up three days ago if it wasn't for my lack of motivation, my wonderful readers. I love you all. XD**_


	13. Sticks and Stones

_**So, my avid readers, I suppose I should let you know that I'm going on vacation this week for a few days, Tuesday thru Thursday, so next week I'm gonna have a two chapters posted by then, I promise. I won't leave you guys hanging for too long because I know just how frustrating it gets. Happy reading :)**_

_**Chapter Thirteen:**_

It was Tuesday, and Bill had four days left to tell Margaret about his little one in the oven. It was all Scully had been able to think about at night, and had to force the thoughts from her mind during the day. There wasn't anything she could really do to help the situation except to wait it out and see if Bill would man-up on his own, something she doubted would happen without a little nudge.

But these thoughts were hardly what was up front in center in her mind at that moment, for the first time in days. While she was still worried about Bill, she had her own problems to tend to.

It wasn't raining on Maryland currently, but there was a dark enough cloud cover out that it wouldn't be surprising if it did. Scully stared out the window as the world moved past her eyes as the truck rolled through the streets. She had barely said a word since she and Mulder left school and headed towards his house; something she was suddenly very uncomfortable with.

"Are you alright, Scully?" he asked eventually as they pulled into the driveway.

She made herself smile and nod her head the affirmative. His long eyes, however, told her he knew she was B-S-ing him. Ignoring it, they both headed inside.

Scully looked around as if the house were foreign territory, an all-new landscape to her. She looked at the couch where she and Mulder had shared a number of good naps together and sat down tentatively with her coat and bag still on her shoulders.

He chuckled at her, "Come on, Scully. Make yourself comfortable."

She smiled and shucked out of her bag and coat, but there was an air of hesitation still lingering in the air around her.

"I've got a little surprise for you." he leaned on the back of the chair across the coffee table from her.

She sat up straighter. "Really? I thought you were only suppose to do what I told you."

They both laughed at that. Since their little photo-shoot in the backyard and Mulder's 'indentured servitude' began, some wonderful jokes had come about. From piggyback rides to eventually locking him out of the house and forcing him to dance in order to be able to come back inside, Scully had thought this had been his best idea yet.

But if there was one thing she had to give Mulder, it would be that he was full of surprises, both good and bad.

"I have to set a few things up though, so do you mind just chilling here for a little bit?" he asked.

She looked nervous, but Mulder had no clue as to why. He hadn't seen that look on her face since the day they met.

It disappeared, however, as quickly as it came. Scully smiled, "Sure, not a problem."

He gave her a curious look, and then retreated into the kitchen.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she sunk into the leather couch. Keeping secrets wasn't one of her strong suits, and she was even worse at lying. It seemed though, at that very moment, it was the only thing she could do to put him off.

Scully went over the events of the day once again in her head as laid down on her side and curled into a ball; her knees pressed against her chest. She had to wonder if anything she'd heard in that room was true. Believing she knew Mulder better than that, she pushed the thoughts away and closed her tired eyes.

A little while later she felt a string of small kisses being planted on her neck, gently nipping at warm skin. Mulder was kneeling in front of her and running a hand up and down her arm, willing her out of her short slumber. "Taking a little cat-nap?"

She smiled, but didn't open her eyes, "Taking advantage of it?"

Scully felt more than saw his smile as he rested his head down next to hers, their noses barely touching. "Maybe a little." he admitted, "You're adorable when you're sleeping."

"I believe you want something from me." she whispered in a taunting tone.

He gave an exasperated sigh, "Skeptic." he said and then lifted her into his arms, one under he knees and the other holding up her torso. Scully's arms automatically went around his neck in order to support herself. She would never admit it, but it felt good to be doted upon every once in awhile.

Mulder carried her up the stairs, and she felt a little out of place, never having been on the second floor before. "What's up here?" she asked.

"I wanted to show you the dark room and how those pictures turned out." he smiled as he came to a door and opened it. The whole thing was engulfed in darkness. "That's the dark room." he said, shut the door and kept walking.

She laughed, "I thought you wanted to show me it."

"I did. Now I'm showing you something else." he stated simply. Mulder felt her muscles tighten in response, but he didn't say anything. She'd been distant with him all day, but he wasn't going to pry if she didn't want to talk.

He nudged open the door with his foot and took her up the next set of stairs that led to the attic, which was basically another room in itself. Scully's eyes went wide as she took in the scene. A previously empty room had been filled with white, red, and pink Christmas lights hanging in rows from the ceiling like icicles. In the far corner of said room, Mulder had piled blankets and pillows in a comfortable, somewhat claustrophobic, fashion. A picnic basket rested in the middle of it all.

"What is this?" she asked quietly.

He smiled. "This _was_ my bedroom for a couple nights while we got the basement under livable conditions, but other than that, it's just a spare room we have no use for…until now."

Mulder set her down on her own two feet and watched her whip around to face him. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I don't know about you, but I've always needed a hiding place. Somewhere secret that nobody else knew anything about. It's pretty drab, but it's better than nothing." he brushed a stray hair away from her face.

"Why tell me about it then?" Scully rubbed her arms, suddenly very uncomfortable.

He picked up on her uneasiness, and decided to make an exception to his 'no prying' rule. "Because I tell you everything. Scully, what's wrong?"

Her eyebrows shot up and she backed away from him. "What? Nothing. I'm fine, Mulder."

"Then why is your voice trembling and why are you biting your lip like that?" he whispered his questions so not to scare her with the reality of how intently he had been observing her. He reached out to touch her, but she pulled back. "And you've never turned down a hug before, either."

"Mulder, I…" she cut herself off with a sigh and a rough run of her fingers through her hair. "Why is the only thing I'm hearing anymore is that you're waiting for me to give it up in order to ditch me?"

It was his turn for a wide-eyed moment, "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know..., I've heard from people that you're waiting for me to have sex with you so you can get rid of me." Two fingers buried themselves into her hair as she twirled it nervously.

"What the...who'd you hear that from?" Mulder asked impatiently.

"Just...someone." she shrugged, but retold the events of the day anyways.

_**(X)**_

_Scully sat in her fourth period class, Pre-Calculus, taking down notes from the previous hour. The bell hadn't rung yet and people were filing in as they saw fit. The only thing that she could hear, however, was the giggling of the four cheerleaders in the back corner of the room. _

'_The Fab Four', as they called themselves, were headed up, like almost any group, by a ringleader. The alpha-female in a group like that, she remembered, was always the prettiest, most popular girl they had. She was the one who everybody wanted to be friends with just because they thought they would be cool just to be near her. Her followers would kiss the ground she walked on and she would be the biggest bitch in the bundle. _

_This, Scully thought, was exactly what she thought of Diana Fowley._

_At a whopping five-foot-eight, Diana Fowley was, admittedly, quite an attractive young woman. Her dark black hair and smoky blue eyes had guys bending over backwards and girls doing anything to get on her good side. A clear complexion and tan, even in early spring, that anyone would be envious of, Scully merely shrugged at._

_She might've been beautiful on the outside, but Scully knew she was as ugly as an ogre on the inside. _

_Not really giving it anymore thought, Scully continued to take notes as people began to take their seats. Unfortunately, that meant Diana sat down next to her as she kept writing. _

_Feigning boredom, Diana leaned over. "Dana, can I ask you a question?"_

_Scully didn't even pretend to be civil, "Anything for you, Diana." she muttered, her focus elsewhere._

"_What's that big, chunky ring around your neck?" she pointed to the bauble that rested against her chest. _

"_It's my boyfriend's." Scully allowed herself the faintest of smiles as that last word left her lips. _

_Diana reached over and turned it over in her fingers, trying to get the etched name to read correctly. "Mulder…" she thought about it for a second, then gasped. "You don't mean Fox Mulder, do you?"_

"_That's the one." Scully wished that was the end of the conversation, but she knew that was too high of a hope._

"_Is he that broody, six-foot-tall, dark and mysterious guy? Hazel eyes, muscles for miles, and a really cute butt?" she continued on._

_A small flare of jealousy shot up through her. Scully didn't really care for the thought of her least-favorite person on Earth looking at her boyfriend's ass, but she couldn't do much about it. "That's the one." she repeated._

"_Oh, Dana, I've heard bad__ things about him." she shook her head on the word so she sounded like a sheep when she said it. _

"_Oh, really?" Scully replied without much interest. _

"_It's true!" she emphasized, then leaned in even closer. "Alex Krycek told me that he told him that he was just waiting for you to quote: "give it up"." _

_The bell rang and the conversation was finally dropped. It took all of the control she had in her body, but Scully managed to keep her face uncaring. Diana had struck a nerve, but Scully would rather kill herself before she'd let her in on that tidbit. _

_All of a sudden, Scully wasn't so focused on math anymore as she unwillingly let her mind venture off down a path of it's own, where it would stay for the rest of the day._

_**(X)**_

"Diana Fowley told you I wanted to jump you?" Mulder drew the conclusion as Scully went over the events of the day.

"Not only that, but after class she told me that she caught you eying her up in the cafeteria, which I know is a lie, because we don't eat in the cafeteria." she stated.

"But you believed her when she said I was only wanting you for sex?" he sat down on the blankets and looked up at her with his elbows on his knees.

Scully teetered back and forth on her heels and chewed on her bottom lip until she tasted blood, then thought it wise to stop. What Scully didn't believe was the "I don't know" that escaped her tired mind.

"Scully…" Mulder sighed as she kneeled down beside him. "Have…have I ever given you a reason to think that I want only _that_ aspect of you?"

"No." she looked down to the floor.

"Do you really think I'm going to dump you anytime soon?" he watched her head as the hair fell into her face.

Scully wrapped her arms around her waist, feeling stupid now. "No." she whimpered.

Mulder brought a hand up to lift her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Do you ever doubt me, even for a second, when I tell you I love you?"

She stopped breathing and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she shook her head in a 'no'.

"Don't cry, sweetheart." He pulled her into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I doubted you, but I'm so sorry." Scully breathed shakily as arms found their way around one another.

Mulder spoke into her hair, "You don't have to be. Just know that we belong to one another, I'm yours and you're mine. And I'm not going to pressure you or hurt you, because I know how much one or both can suffocate a person emotionally. Naturally, remember?"

She nuzzled him with her forehead, "You're too good for me."

"I have that same thought every night." he confessed.

Scully finally laughed, much to Mulder's own happiness, and they went on with their afternoon together like any other would until she got ready to leave. Telling her to hang on a minute, Mulder retreated into the basement and came back up with the beaten-up leather jacket she always thought looked great on him.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Nowhere." he smiled as he wrapped it around her shoulders. "You look ten times better in it than I do."

Scully looked at him like he'd grown a second head, the stiff material becoming a pleasant weight to her. "Mulder, I can't take you're leather jacket."

"You have my ring and every hoodie I own. I thought maybe if I give you something with a little more meaning, I might see those again someday." he joked.

She poked him in the stomach, then gave him a hug. "Like I said, you're too good for me."

"And you're too good for me, so that makes us too good together." he kissed her forehead.

Scully didn't want to leave it at that, however. Pulling him down to her, she gave him a hot, open-mouthed kiss that stirred both of their souls. Tongues battled and teeth clashed in what no one would consider a 'good-bye' kiss.

When they pulled apart, Mulder kept her close and whispered, "don't go.' in a breathless tone.

She chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow." she grabbed her backpack and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you, too." he returned. He then watched out the window as her tail lights disappeared down the street.

_**(X)**_

The next day, Scully stood at her locker after the final bell, double-checking to make sure she had everything she'd need for that night's homework, when Diana sauntered over.

"Hey, Dana. How's life?" she asked in a faked semi-sweet tone.

"Pretty good, thanks." Scully said as she slid her arms through the sleeves of her new leather jacket.

"So, did you dump that pervert before he did the same to you?" she asked.

'_Wow, no beating around the bush today,'_ Scully thought. However, it seemed to be a shining opportunity for a little gloating. "You know, I actually thought about what you said yesterday, but, you know, he is _such_ a good kisser that I've decided to keep him around a while longer. See how long he's willing to wait." she smiled smugly.

"Wha-…but Dana, he's just using you!" she said in a huff.

"You see, that's where you're wrong." Scully shut her locker door and hefted her bag up on one shoulder. "If you hadn't told me all of my boyfriend's 'easy-on-the-eyes' attributes before you told me he was a scumbag, there was more of a likelihood I would've believed you. Not much, but at least then you would've sounded more plausible."

That tore it for Diana, "Okay, I might not have understood some of those big, fancy words you used, but I know you just insulted me." she dropped her bag to the floor and curled her hands towards her opponent in invitation. "Come on, you wanna go?"

"I'm not gonna fight you, Diana." But even as she said it, Scully saw a few fellow classmates stop to see if something was going to take place.

That was when Mulder appeared at Scully's shoulder. "Hey, love." he mumbled as he kissed her temple.

"Hi. You ready?" Scully turned away from Diana as the couple started walking the opposite direction.

"Always." he smiled and linked fingers with her as they walked down the corridor that would eventually lead out to the student parking lot.

That wasn't good enough for someone, though.

"Bitch, you think this is over?" Diana's voice shouted at them from several yards back and the sound got louder and clearer along with approaching footsteps. The hallways were now cleared of all others that were eager to leave the grounds as quickly as they could, so the sounds reverberated off the walls with nothing else to block out the noise.

"Was there really anything to start with, Diana?" Scully shot back, but didn't turn.

"I always get what I want, Dana!" she yelled.

This time, Scully did turn around halfway to look at her, "What exactly is it that you want?"

Her grin was wide and wicked as her eyes grew light. Her stride was steady until she was a mere few feet away again. "You think you're so special, prancing around with a ring around your neck and a man on your arm; the only man in this damn school that even _looks_ like he's worth a second glance. It's not fair that the only girl he wants is a whore like you!" she screamed.

Mulder, who'd been idling by silently, snapped silently inside his calm and cool exterior. He looked at Diana with vicious eyes and actually took a step towards her, but Scully pulled him back. After seeing what he'd done to Frank with her mother and brother there, she didn't want to think about what he might do in a desolate hallway.

"Life isn't fair, girly. Get used to it. And what gives you the right to feel cheated out of something you never had to begin with?" Mulder asked calmly, despite the fire that burned in his eyes. It was menacing enough to have Diana take a step or two backwards.

"Sticks and stones. Mulder, let's go." she urged quietly. He was reluctant to budge, but after a few more seconds of death-glaring Diana, he wrapped his arm around Scully's shoulder and they headed out together.

"I don't like her at all." he muttered as if it were a big secret.

"Join the club." Scully shook her head.

"Do you have t-shirts?" he asked, once again back to his calm, loveable self.

She laughed, "No, but we have cookies. Speaking of which, my mom was getting ready to make homemade ones when I left this morning."

"Don't taunt me with cookies, woman, or sunflower seeds for that matter." he said.

"Why sunflower seeds?"

"Call it a vice." Mulder kissed her temple again as they made their way outside into the bright sunshine of the day.

* * *

_**Just some fluff because I felt like it. Like? Dislike? Let me know! XD**_


	14. The Good Left Undone

_**So, this is pretty much a quickie-update because I had to get around to Bill spilling the beans about everything, and I got kinda bored with it. I hope it's not too sucky. XD**_

_**Chapter Fourteen:**_

Scully rolled in a semi-conscious state as the first few rays of sunlight filtered through her curtains. Her feet had gone numb sometime in the night because they stuck out from underneath the blankets. Her head ached behind her eyes and her stomach felt like it was twisted into knots.

She looked at the clock. Six twenty-three a.m. It wasn't exactly the idyllic time to wake up, but she didn't feel sleep coming to take her as its prisoner again.

"Crap." she said to no one as she tried to roll out of bed, failing epically by falling to the floor. Trying to sit up, she realized how pointless it was to try to stand up right away. Scully pushed herself up slowly and waited for the wave of nausea to pass before she tried to stand.

Going to her desk, she opened the small bottle she took out from it and popped two Midol and swallowed them whole. Her mind was too focused on the pain to think of anything else other than how to alleviate it. Deciding a lukewarm bath would do her good, she tip-toed downstairs to the bathroom down there so she wouldn't wake anyone.

After she'd soaked a few minutes in the warm water, she felt the ache in her belly subside substantially, but the headache remained. Scully sank further down into the water as she did the math in her head to calculate that it was Saturday, and she still hadn't heard anything from her big brother's mouth about anything.

"Pansy." she rolled her eyes as she washed up and changed into a clean pair of pajama pants and the 'Escape The Fate' t-shirt that she'd stolen from Mulder. The scent of him and the detergent he used had been buried into the cloth. It comforted her a little.

In the kitchen, the coffee pot began to brew it's life-giving substance according to the timer as Scully toweled at her somewhat-damp hair nervously. The sound of it, though, was drowned out in the rain that fell to the ground yet again. With a new reason to feel miserable, Scully sat down at the kitchen table, folded her arms, and put her head down on them like she would had she ever, if it were possible, fallen asleep in school.

A loud tapping on the kitchen window brought her out of her funk long enough to see a drenched Mulder waving at her through the window. He pointed toward the back door, gesturing her to unlock it. She pouted her bottom lip a little as she got up and went to the door, which he practically fell into.

"Good God, it's fricken' freezing out there." Mulder shed his coat and hung it up on one of the hooks as he ran a hand through his wet hair.

"Good morning to you, too." she whispered. Scully went to one of the barstools that sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen and hauled herself into it without another word.

'Uh-oh', Mulder knew that harshly sad tone of voice. "I'm sorry, Scully." he took her face gently in his hands and kissed her softly. She reacted instantly, her whole body seemingly coming to life by that simple touch. Her fingers laced together on the back of his neck while her legs loosely wrapped around his calves.

She silently begged him to take it further, to take more, but he knew better. He knew what she was feeling now. Her offering was a desperate attempt to feel better, possibly human again. While Mulder wanted to help her, physical contact wasn't necessarily the answer. He could hold her, keep her safe and warm until a little of that numbness faded away, but talking would do her a lot more good.

He pulled away, despite her reluctance, and met her eyes. "I'll go out on a limb and say it hasn't been a good morning."

Scully pulled him a little closer. "Not in so many words. It's Saturday, Bill hasn't said a word to anyone, the weather sucks, and Mother Nature paid me a visit this morning." she said with fake enthusiasm.

"'Mother Nature'? What do you…oh." he drew out the syllable.

"Yes, Mulder, two plus two equals four!" she said sarcastically, then thought about how mean it sounded. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a bitch."

"Don't worry about it. I've heard worse." he brushed it off, then walked over to pour her a cup of coffee. "I've heard caffeine helps."

"It does more often than not. Thanks." she whispered as he slid the hot cup into her chilled fingers. "What are you doing roaming around my backyard at this early of an hour?"

He pushed an errant lock of hair behind her ear absently, "It's Saturday and you haven't mentioned anything about Bill spilling his guts. I figured you would probably do it this morning to get it over with and I thought you might need the moral support." he smiled.

"You know me so well." she deadpanned.

"In theory." Mulder nuzzled his forehead with hers, another attempt to bring her spirits up. He thought she looked so adorable with her damp hair and haphazard pajama choice. "Nice shirt, by the way."

Scully stuck her tongue out at him childishly as her ears perked up to the heavy sound of footfalls on the stairs. The sound was followed by muttered curses of the weather and the newspaper probably being soaked. "Sounds like Dad's up."

"You can tell?" he asked.

"Some nights when I can't sleep I come down and sit on the couch and I hear everyone coming down in the morning. I've gotten used to everyone's little differences." she said and watched the door. Sure enough, Bill Scully Sr. came into the room in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Morning Ahab." Scully chimed.

He rubbed his eyes, "Morning Starbuck."

"Good morning, Mr. Scully." Mulder smiled.

The older male made a double take. "Well, aren't you two a couple of early birds." he said in a monotone.

"Dad, you know I'm not." his daughter responded around another sip of coffee.

"Then why are you up so early?" Scully opened her mouth to answer his question, but not before he held up a finger with a wild expression and said, "Exactly!"

She smiled a little and he ruffled her hair affectionately. She then looked to Mulder, asking him silently how she could tell him what she needed to when he was in such a good mood. Hearing bad news from someone who was directly involved in it was bad enough, but to hear it from someone who wasn't just sounded like gossip.

Mulder smiled sympathetically and brought her into another hug. There wasn't much else he could do.

Margaret came into the kitchen next with sleep-heavy eyes and in a housecoat. "Morning." she yawned.

"Yes, it is." Mulder responded with a smile, startling his girlfriend's mother.

Rubbing her eyes, Margaret met his eyes. "Early bird. That's enviable." she smiled.

Scully sighed slowly as she watched her mother pour herself a cup of coffee. "Um…Mom? Can I talk to you and Dad about something."

Margaret poured creamer into her coffee as she responded, "So long as you don't tell me you're pregnant."

"No, I'm not pregnant…" she started, "but…" Scully heard the front door slam shut down the hall, startling her. Not two seconds later, Bill and Tara busted into the kitchen, pregnant belly and all. Both were laughing hysterically.

"Hey guys," Bill finally said after he caught his breath.

Both mother and father just stared at their son and the woman on his arm. Mulder placed two reassuring hands on his own girlfriend's shoulders.

"Hi, Bill…" Margaret finally said after a long pause. "Um…you wanna introduce your friend?"

Scully suddenly stood up from the barstool, "Come on, Mulder." she whispered and tugged his hand towards the living room.

Some little voice in the back of his mind wanted to ask why she wanted to leave. To ask her why she wouldn't want to stick around and see what happened, but then realized she'd promised Bill that she would back off if he got around to doing the deed himself. He obliged her as the cautiously stepped up the stairs together, running into Charlie halfway up.

"Morn-hey! That's the way I just came." he stated groggily.

"Yeah, and we're saving you from yourself." his sister shoved him back up the stairs.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Mulder perched his head over Scully's shoulder, "Your brother got a girl pregnant and we believe he's telling your parents as we stumble up the stairs."

"What?" Charlie asked again as Scully shushed him and nudged him backwards. When they made it to the top, Scully looked back at Mulder.

"I gotta get dressed. I'll be out in a minute." she said quietly and turned towards her bedroom door.

Mulder smiled, "I'll be waiting." he said as she shut the door.

Charlie piped up, "You two are really mushy."

"You'll understand the feeling one day." Mulder replied.

_**(X)**_

_All because of you  
I believe in angels  
Not the kind with wings  
No, not the kind with halos  
The kind that bring you home  
When home becomes a strange place  
I'll follow your voice  
All you have to do  
Is shout it out_

Mulder nuzzled Scully's shoulder nearly an hour later. They listened to her ipod while he and Charlie played an old videogame on the television in his room. She reached up to stroke his hair lovingly as she turned the final page in her book.

Charlie looked over at them for a quick second, internally gagged, and muttered an 'uh-oh' under his breath.

"What?" Mulder asked.

"Is that the end of her book?" he asked.

Mulder glanced down, then back to the screen. "Looks like it."

"That means it's time for the pilgrimage." Charlie smiled.

Scully's eyebrows furrowed while the eyes rolled. "I wish I'd never taught you that word."

"Pilgrimage to where?" Mulder asked on a chuckle.

"To Barnes and Noble." This time Charlie's smile was a full-fledged grin.

Scully closed her book and smacked her brother with it, grateful that she'd been reading Charles Dickens and it was a thick one. Charlie rolled away as Scully snuggled in closer to Mulder. "It's been awhile." she said absently.

"I haven't heard anything being broken, either." Charlie sighed as he got up and turned off the console. Scully turned off her Ipod and wound the earbuds around her hand and shoved them in her pocket. Tension rose to her shoulders as she thought of what could be happening a flight of stairs below them. She started to wonder if her parents had just killed Bill and were getting rid of the body now.

"Who wants to be the advance scout?" Mulder asked conspiratorially.

"Nose goes." Charlie touched his nose, followed closely by Scully.

Mulder looked at the two of them like they'd grown second heads, then sighed. "Damn." He picked Scully up only to dump her on her little brother's bed and crept down only a quarter of the way to investigate when he heard voices.

"We understand that this is going to be tough, but we really think that we can make this work out for ourselves." Bill Jr. said from the couch.

"But Bill, getting married? What happened to graduating from college and going into the Navy?" Margaret complained, thinking about her son's previous plans.

"I can apply at any time; the guy at the recruiter's office told me so. And after I finish off this year of college, I just won't go back in the fall. We'll be married and you'll have a new grandson or granddaughter." he reasoned as if there wasn't a flaw in the world with his plan.

Mulder went back up the stairs as quietly has he had before. If his parents were looking to name him after his stealth, they'd hit the mark. He slipped back into Charlie's bedroom noiselessly.

"Well?" the siblings asked in near unison.

He breathed in and let it out slowly. "From what it sounds like, you're going to be an uncle…" he pointed at Charlie, "and you an aunt." he patted Scully on the head. "And it also sounds like you're both going to become 'in-laws'."

Charlie's eyes went wide as his sister squeezed hers shut. "You have _got_ to be kidding me." Scully muttered.

"Judging by the look on your face, I wish I were." Mulder rubbed her shoulder.

The younger sibling stood by the window and looked out into the slight mist that had followed the rain from earlier. "Mom and Dad are probably just fine with it, too." he muttered.

Mulder shot a questioning look at the boy's back, then looked down to Scully, who'd grabbed his hand to get his attention. "Bill's always been the one to get away with things scot-free. He's came home drunk, even came here high once, but never a consequence." she said in a quiet monotone.

"And you and I are watched like we're under house arrest! I mean, for God's sakes, they know about something we did wrong the second _before_ we do it!" Charlie seethed. He wanted to yell, but just kept it to a harsh whisper.

Scully looked over to her brother's back. "You don't think I don't feel like I'm trapped in a cage? Where the only place where you don't have to call someone every five minutes is home? Mom's lightened up on me to the point where I only have to call her every _two hours_ now!" she countered.

He turned, "Did you not hear the 'you and I' or the 'we're' or the 'we' in those two sentences?"

She opened her mouth, then thought and closed it. "I'm sorry, Charlie. It just feels like I have this conversation so often."

"So do I, you switch to auto-pilot after awhile with it." he said as he leaned against the window's frame.

Mulder, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke. "Is it the unfairness of what Bill had that freedom that you guys don't necessarily have, or is it just that he gets his own way all the time?"

Scully sighed and flopped onto her back on the bed. "While both are true, I just wish that I had a little more faith put into the fact that I'd like to make decisions for myself." she shrugged, "I can't even really do that, either, because Bill thinks you're such an ass."

Mulder smiled, "Why, thank you, sweetheart."

"No, look at it this way…" she sat up. "you, and I mean _you_, are the one decision I've made in the seventeen years I've been on this Earth. Both me and Charlie had _everything_ pre-selected for us. Music lessons, sports, movies, clothes, we had our whole effing lives planned out for us even before we got here!"

Charlie backed his secretly favorite sibling up on her statement. "She's right. It really sucks when you gotta get the Mom seal-of-approval on a simple t-shirt."

Scully met Mulder's eyes, "But I _chose_ you. And I don't think that Bill could imagine his quiet, antisocial little sister going for somebody who's the exact same way. I think he wanted me to date the quarterback of the football team, honestly."

His eyebrows went to the ceiling. "Ed Jerse? He wanted you to go out with Ed Jerse? That prick with the tattoo?"

"Not him specifically, but that type and I didn't want a pig who wanted me in the backseat of his F-150. I wanted a friend first and boyfriend second. You gave me that." she told him earnestly.

He smiled, "Aww, Scully…"

"If you two are gonna kiss, please do so out in the hall. I like to sleep here mush-free." Charlie stated.

The couple stopped an inch apart and settled for a hug. Mulder could feel the shift in her thinking even as he head merely rested against his shoulder. It was becoming like a sixth sense to him and, quite honestly, he was loving every minute of it.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

Scully was silent for a long moment before she said. "I'm thinking I wanna go to Barnes and Noble."

Both guys laughed while Charlie repeated the age-old phrase:

"I told you so."

* * *

_**I know I probably made this fluffier than you all anticipated, and I'm sorry for that, but what I'm planning for next chapter is gonna take all of my angst-y energy to write. It's prom-time in the world of M&S and I wanna make prom-nite...memorable. I hope you all stick with me and click that button down there to leave me you're thoughts.**_

**_That song I used was "The Good Left Undone" by Rise Against. I thought it was fitting. XD_**


	15. A Phantom Torment

_**Maybe it's just me, but this chapter just sounds a bit off to me. I've been a bit off of my game lately. Let me know what you think. xD**_

**__****P.S.: This is a strong T-rating for some language that's about to ensue. You'll see. **

**__****P.S.S.: Excuse the crap-tastic title. T_T;**

_**Chapter Fifteen:**_

Mulder sat by the bed of the hospital room as he watched her sleep. There wasn't a whole lot more he could do that would prove to be any use. He held her unbroken hand in both of his as he willed himself not to cry. Crying was weak, but if he was anything, it was weak right now. Strength was something he wasn't great with to begin with, but he'd never known this kind of agony before.

The steady, resonant sound of the heart monitor reassured him of the life that took place in the bed. The small body, most likely wracked with pain. Her face covered with cuts and scrapes, purple with bruises, was relaxed in her drug-induced sleep. Her right wrist was wrapped in a cast that he'd already taken the liberty of signing.

He couldn't wait until she awoke and he could see her beautiful eyes again. Mulder had made a promise to himself that he wasn't going to sleep until he saw her eyes. He knew that if he tried to sleep without seeing them, his twisted mind would either haunt him with them, or make him go back to last night in that truck; the one place he never wanted to go again.

Mulder looked up at the opening door to see the whole Scully clan walking into the room, expressions of grief on their faces except for Bill Jr, who held hostility both in his voice and his appearance.

He looked to the younger male disgustedly. "Haven't you done enough?"

"You may not like it, Bill, but I care about her too much to not be here." Mulder whispered, not wanting to wake her up.

"Bullshit! If you cared about her at all, you would've backed off when I told you to!" he shouted.

"Bill!" Margaret said in a hushed tone.

"Are you trying to wake her up? Do you think this is the first thing she wants to see when she wakes up? Us fighting over nothing?" Mulder still didn't turn to face any of them.

Bill Jr. came to the foot of the bed to look him in the eyes. "This _is_ something. It's about the fact that I don't want you hanging around my baby sister anymore!" he yelled in a whisper.

Mulder sighed, "I'm sorry you feel that way, Bill." He met his eyes for a moment as he said it, then kissed the hand he held for about the twentieth time that morning. "I don't think you can respect the fact that I'm not going anywhere unless she tells me to go. You obviously haven't before."

"Fox…" Margaret came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe it would be easier if you took a little break."

He didn't look at her. He wasn't able to take his eyes off the woman in the bed. "I can't leave. I need to be here." Mulder held the cold limb tighter to his body, a stray tear falling down to the bend of it's elbow, "I love her."

Margaret took her hand from his shoulder as the heart monitor increased a little, then a little more as her head went back and forth, trying futilely to escape her own subconscious.

Mulder didn't flinch. Still holding her hand, he stood up and leaned his head into her ear, careful not to touch her. "It's okay, everything's okay. I'm here, and no one's going to hurt you….Scully, come back to me." he whispered and kissed her forehead softly. As he did, her eyes opened. She breathed in, but didn't breathe out for a minute.

"Mulder?" Scully whimpered.

"I'm right here." he stated as the rest of her family gathered around her bed and watched her like a lab rat.

"Wh-what happened to me? Wh-why does it hurt to breathe?" she asked breathily in itself.

She looked at him with such an aching expression it caused the tear ducts in Mulder's eyes to engage once again. He cried quietly, and to the others, almost unnoticeably. It didn't take much for Scully to notice when someone was hurting, but she was especially in-tuned to Mulder. She knew him better, she liked to think, than she knew the back of her hand.

Forcing herself to sit up, she winced a little at the throbbing that took place throughout her body.

"Easy, Danes." Bill Jr. went to push her back down, but she swatted his hand away.

"Someone needs a hug." Scully persisted with a pained smile, then chuckled at herself. She pulled Mulder towards her with her good hand which he'd finally let go of. He eyed her cautiously, then gingerly wrapped his arms around her middle, being careful not to squeeze her. She brought his tired head down to rest on her shoulder. It seemed it was the only part of her that wasn't sore.

"D…" Scully looked up to Melissa, who was fiddling with the cross that was identical to her own. Their dad was to her right and just as, if not more, concerned as she was. "What the hell happened?"

She breathed in deeply once more and stroked Mulder's hair. "I'm not sure myself." She scratched her eyebrow with her cast. "I remember…dancing with Donnie and the next thing I knew Mulder and I were…in the truck. I was really loopy."

It was Mulder's turn to breathe in as he bowed his head. "You'd been drugged." his voice was muffled.

"Fox…" Margaret sat down in the chair in front where he sat on the bed. "It looks like you're the only one who knows what happened last night."

"Start from the beginning." Bill Jr. crossed his arms as he spoke gruffly.

Mulder, who was still in his tux, linked fingers with Scully again, and held her hand as he relived the events of the last twelve hours.

_**(X)**_

"I'm telling you, man. Detroit Pistons can kick the Knicks asses." John Doggett smacked Mulder in the chest with the plastic box that held his girlfriend's corsage.

"In your dreams." Mulder readjusted his cummerbund and straightened his jacket. He truly felt like a penguin in this stupid tuxedo, but the obligation to go down to the store and rent one rather than just wearing a suit overpowered him. He felt a bit better that he wasn't the only one, though. John had his own on and plucked at the fabric, annoyed.

John turned towards the stairs of the Scully household and shouted up, "Is anybody even _close_ to being ready yet?"

"Hold your horses, John." Monica's disembodied voice called back, followed by a loud thud and her laughter.

Mulder smiled as he thought about the possible scenarios that were happening up there. He let his mind drift as his friend paced the floor. It was amusing to see John a little anxious whereas he was usually quite laid back. He wouldn't admit it, but Mulder was a little nervous as well. Prom wasn't necessarily something you wanted to mess up for your date by doing or saying something stupid.

He twirled his mask around absently on one finger. This year's theme was "Midnight Masquerade" and those in attendance had to wear either the masks provided for them or to bring one of their own. Mulder made his own to make him look like Gerard Butler in the newest "Phantom of the Opera" movie.

He then looked to the one he'd made for Scully. Mulder had asked to see the dress she was wearing in order to get an idea of what he could make, but she outright refused him. She told him, essentially, that she trusted him and she'd love whatever he did. He only hoped now that his color scheme would work.

The mask itself was a simple black one that he'd picked up from a costume shop in town, but what he did with it was out of the ordinary. He'd taken needle-nosed tubes of crafting glue and traced intricate swirls, loops and dots throughout it, then at the forehead traced a heart dead center between the eyes. He then went back over it with the darkest blood-red glitter he could find. It was simple and creative at the same time.

"John Doggett, I swear you'll be the death of me one of these days." Monica playfully scolded as she came down the stairs first. Her gown, if it could be called a gown, was hot pink, spaghetti-strapped, and stopped abruptly at mid-thigh. It also clung to every curve she possessed as tightly as a Band-Aid would.

Mulder had to smile at her. Reyes was quite amusing, even when she wasn't trying to be. He slipped his mask to its resting spot on the left side of his face in a failed attempt to hide his amusement.

Monica turned to him, "What are you laughing at, Ghostly? Yours is taking longer than I am."

"Yeah, but I wasn't the one complaining, was I?" Mulder looked at John, who merely held his hands up for peace.

"In sleep, he sang to me. In dreams he came." a familiar voice made his smile turn into a grin. Mulder looked up and all of the oxygen in the room disappeared to him. He couldn't breathe, speak, or do anything but follow her with his eyes as she descended the stairs.

Scully's dress was quite different from Monica's. Hers could actually be considered an evening gown. It was simple and black and also spaghetti-strapped. The horizontal neckline gave away almost nothing for cleavage, but the slit in the side that came up to her knee was just as attractive. Her hair was simply smoothed into place with moose and kept there with hairspray. On her feet were a pair of classic black pumps that added a good three inches to her height.

Mulder finally swallowed when she came to a stop in front of him and wet his dry lips. "Wow."

She blushed a bright tomato-red before she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "Is that one mine?" she asked as she pointed to the mask in his hand.

"Yeah, but I'd hate to cover your face with a mask when you look so beautiful." he gently ran the back of one finger across her cheek. She backed away from him when their noses touched.

She blushed even more as she took the eyewear from him and wrapped it around her eyes. It fit her like a second skin.

"Gag." Monica joked. Mulder stuck his tongue out absently at her as Scully checked herself over in the mirror.

"It's amazing, Mulder. You did a really good job." she fingered the shimmering heart in the center of her forehead.

"Thank you." he grinned as he saw Margaret and Melissa coming towards them from the kitchen, camera in hand.

The usual pre-prom pictures were taken and a little ribbing from Melissa about her sister's breasts looking larger than usual. Scully breathed a sigh of relief when she finally pulled herself into Mulder's truck.

"You're sister is hilarious." he grinned.

"So you say." Scully replied as she leaned back into her seat.

Not ten minutes later they arrived at the Holiday Inn where said event was taking place. Mulder pulled into a parking slot right beside John and Monica.

"About time, you slow pokes." John teased as the two hopped out of Mulder's truck.

"Not our fault you drive like a speed demon." Scully countered.

Mulder ignored their little banter and held his arm out to his girlfriend. "Mademoiselle?"

Scully smiled. "Monsieur." she replied as she threaded her hand through his arm. "You're so old-fashioned."

"And so are you, so that makes two of us." he pointed out as the four of them crossed the parking lot.

The actual dance was taking place in the hotel's conference room on the fifth floor, but the friends could hear the music all the way down in the lobby. The DJ was playing "I Got A Feelin'" by Black Eyed Peas.

Monica turned to Scully, "Do you think tonight's gonna be a 'good, good night'?" she asked as they got in the elevator.

"God willing." she replied.

Apparently, He wasn't willing enough.

_**(X)**_

Mulder had flopped down at a table as "Just Dance" started. He didn't care how many times Lady Gaga encouraged it, he didn't think he could anymore.

Scully, on the other hand, showed no sign of slowing down.

"I love this record, baby, but I can't see straight anymore." she chanted as she came up to her resting boyfriend.

"Good, then maybe you'll fall on your butt and stay there awhile." he teased as he took a swig of his punch.

She smacked his hair playfully as she sat in the chair next to him. "Aw, poor baby getting tired?"

"No, just give me a breather and I'll be happy." he downed the last of the drink and straightened his coat and mask.

"You look warm." she commented. Scully traced a finger over the half of his forehead that was visible. She rubbed her hands together when she felt her finger was slick with sweat.

"Nah, I'm fine." he reassured. "You're really cute when you dance."

She chuckled. "This is nothing. Come by my house one day when nobody else is there and you can hear Katy Perry faintly from your house."

"Mulder smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." A new song started, a much slower one, and he stood up. "May I have this dance?"

"You certainly may." she took the hand he offered as he led them to the rather crowded dance floor. They took up the proper dancing position as a man and a woman started the duet.

_My love,  
There's only you in my life,  
The only thing that's bright_

_My first love,  
You're every breath that I take,  
You're every step I make_

_And I  
I want to share  
All my love with you  
No one else will do_

Scully rested her head against Mulder's shoulder lightly as they swayed to a slow rhythm in time with the song. "What is this?" she asked randomly.

"It's called 'Endless Love'. I think it's pretty relatable." he whispered into her hair.

"Relatable to us?" she asked.

"Yeah. You're the only thing that's bright in my life. I'm a fool for you, and you mean the world to me. And I might just happen to love you, too." he said seriously.

Scully was beginning to wonder more and more how bad his life really was. She knew about some of the darkest parts, but his cheery disposition made her think that things weren't as bad as he claimed. Looks can be deceiving, yes, but she decided to dwell on it later.

She met his eyes as well as she could in the dim light and through the masks. "Yeah, well I can't resist you're charms and I'm a fool for you, too."

The song ended shortly thereafter. They were going to walk back to their table together when Scully felt two fingers poke her in the shoulder. She turned partly with Mulder to see Donnie Pfaster behind her in a cheap mask and a smile on his face.

"Hi, Dana." he said awkwardly.

"Hi, Donnie." she smiled.

"I was wondering if you'd…you know…like to dance?" he asked as if he didn't know how to say the words.

Even though he was six feet tall and looked like a linebacker for the football team, he was shy and afraid of her. She looked to Mulder, searching his eyes to see if he would mind.

He kissed her cheek gently, "Go ahead, I need a break anyway."

"Alright then, I'm all yours, Donnie." she said before they disappeared into the crowd together.

_**(X)**_

"Mulder, Mulder, you gotta come with me, you gotta come with me right now!" Monica pulled on Mulder's hand like she was trying to save him from a burning building.

"Where's the fire, Reyes?" he asked, mildly amused.

She glared at him evilly, "This isn't a joke, Mulder. You know that Donnie guy Dana was dancing with?"

"Yeah, I just saw them out there." he stated.

"That son-of-a-bitch spiked her punch." Monica deadpanned.

Mulder's eyebrows met his hairline, "What?"

"Yeah, I saw him put something in it. The next time I saw her, she was all giggly and loopy like she was wasted. John got called to the hospital cause his mother's stupid knee and I don't know what to do." she rambled.

"Well, where are they Monica!" Anger was bubbling up into his voice.

"There," she pointed to the door, "They just left." she was trembling by the time she said left.

"Come on!" Mulder ran out the door while Monica kicked her heels off as she tried to keep up. A few people turned their heads to see what was happening, but nobody really cared. They were odd enough and just figured it was something meaningless.

Mulder scouted the hallways, listening and looking for any sign of life that might inhabit them. He heard distant footfalls and a familiar giggle. It was the same giggle he heard when he tickled Scully's feet.

Rounding a corner, about ten yards away, Scully was slumped up against the wall, her dress pushed up around the legs and one of her shoes missing. She had a grin on her face the size of Texas, but he thought about the fact she looked like she was in a drunken stupor, but hoped that Monica was wrong.

"Scully?" Mulder knelt down beside her and shook her gently.

She kept looking of in a daze for a moment, then rolled her head to look at him. She smiled, "Hey, cutie."

"You see what I mean? She looks like she's high." Monica whispered.

Scully wrapped her arms around Mulder's neck and started lapping at his neck like a dog would his water bowl. "I think you might be partially right." he said to Monica, then turned back to Scully. "Where'd he go, Scully?"

"I…I…tired." she slouched against his shoulder, her breathing slowing down.

"Scully, stay with me." he patted her cheek just enough to rouse her.

"Let me sleep." she mumbled incoherently.

Mulder looked back up at Monica to see what he should do. When she merely shrugged her shoulders, Mulder lifted her up into his arms. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"I'm with you on that one." Monica agreed as they walked back down the hallway to the elevator. Monica called the metal car as Scully nuzzled Mulder's neck one last time before she passed out entirely. He sighed, carrying deadweight now, and readjusted her in his arms to make her a little lighter.

The contraption dinged, and who was stepping out other than Donnie Pfaster with a bucket full of ice.

"Where are you taking her?" he asked.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Mulder shouted. "You're lucky I can't hit you right now, jackass."

He chuckled, slightly amused. "I'm sorry she likes me more than she does you, Mulder. You just seem like you're being a sore loser."

"She loves me, damnit, and I love her." he seethed.

"So you say." Donnie countered.

If Mulder wasn't seeing red before, he sure as hell was now. He was about to say something else, but Monica shoved him into the elevator and hit the ground floor button before Donnie could get back on.

"Sorry, we don't have time for your alpha-male B.S. at this moment. You can kill him later." Monica reassured.

He nodded, understanding her. He had to think about Scully at that moment. Where to take her. What to tell her when she woke up. In the midst of his thinking process, they'd reached the lobby.

They walked by the main desk as nonchalantly as they could manage. The nightshift guy just gave them a smile, figuring one of the partygoers just pooped out. No one really thought too hard about people they were likely never to see again.

Monica ran out into the parking lot barefoot still. She didn't have the presence of mind to mourn the loss of her shoes as climbed into the back of Mulder's Silverado.

Mulder buckled Scully into the front, grateful that Monica didn't want to ride shotgun. It would've been even harder to get his disoriented girlfriend strapped into the back.

He climbed into the driver's side and revved the engine. Throwing the truck into reverse, Mulder backed out of his parking space as carefully as he could due to all of the teenagers that squeezed him into his spot.

"MULDER, WATCH OUT!" Monica shrieked from the backseat, but it was too late.

The headlights came straight at them, plowing into the right side of the truck as the world went even blacker than it already was for him.

_**(X)**_

He came back to the hospital room and out of the memory with a solemn expression, "I came out without a scratch on me and Monica had a couple scrapes and bruises. You took the biggest hit." Mulder rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on.

"How'd we get here?" Scully asked, pulling at the covers of her hospital bed absently.

"My truck was a 2008 Chevy Silverado. Guess we were just lucky it had OnStar in it." he deadpanned.

"What about Donnie? What happened?" she wondered.

He sighed. "By the time the cops and ambulance showed up, he was ranting and raving about how he wouldn't have had to do it if we'd just left you there in that hallway where you 'belonged'. He got arrested for vehicular negligence and assaulting an officer."

She breathed in, "Wow." and let it out.

"Dana, do you remember any of that?" Margaret took Mulder's place on the bed next to her daughter.

"I…I remember dancing, but nothing else." Scully rubbed her head with her good hand.

Bill Jr. took this as his opportunity to chime in. "Which means you have no way of knowing if it really happened like that."

"Oh, shut up, Bill!" Melissa snapped.

"I have an eyewitness to all of this who has no reason to lie to you or for me." Mulder stated.

"Mulder, do me a favor?" Scully asked in her most pitiful voice.

His ears perked up, "Anything."

"Go home. Go to bed. You look like you have two black eyes and you haven't slept in at least thirty-six hours." she reasoned.

Melissa and Bill Sr. laughed at her. Here she was, frail and weakened, yet she was still ordering him around.

Mulder smiled a little and kissed the top of her head. "I love you." he whispered.

"Ditto." she replied and gave him as much of a hug as she could manage.

As soon as Mulder left, Monica came through the door with a dopey smile on her face.

"Hey, Danes, we match." she held up her own arm that was wrapped in a paper-mache cast.

Scully looked down at her left arm for the first time. "Hey, mine says something."

"Oh, did Mulder already sign yours? What's it say?" she asked.

"Yeah, D. What'd lover-boy write on your arm?" Melissa repeated in her own colorful words.

"Hold your horses, my eyes aren't adjusting well." Scully's eyes widened, squinted, then widened again as she tried to decrypt her boyfriend's elegant artsy script. When she was able to read it, she felt her heart soften. "_To my wingless angel who has a halo, and me, wrapped around her heart. -M." _

Monica sighed, "If only John were that romantic."

"I think I'm gonna see my breakfast again." Bill Jr. said sourly.

Scully smiled, "I'm sorry, Bill, but honestly, I could care less."

* * *

_**It's angsty, but then again, I've been in an angsty mood lately. For the longest time I couldn't even attempt angst and now it's like a fricken' second nature. What's this crap?**_

**_Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, hit that review button to leave me your thoughts, and stick around with me for another chapter. ^^_**


	16. Paranormal Marshmallows

_**So, I might as well tell you guys that you can probably start expecting updates every two weeks instead of every week from now on. School's gonna be starting here next week and I never write regularly when I've got that going on. **_

**__****This is also just kinda a little piece of fluff and kind of a veichle for the next chapter, which I haven't completely figured out yet, but I promise angst for the next one. That much I will tell you. Happy reading and dont forget to review! XD**

_**Chapter Sixteen:**_

It had been two weeks since the prom night fiasco, and Scully had already completely healed. Before she knew it her head had stopped throbbing every morning, the split in her lip was gone, and her body no longer felt like it was on pins and needles anymore.

She'd left school an hour early to get her cast removed, the last piece of evidence of that crap-tastic night, and when it was finally gone, she scratched her arm up and down in relief. She thanked the nurse that freed her from it, but and left as quickly as she could. Hospitals she could take more of than she could doctor's offices. At least hospitals had hallways you could pace.

On the way home Scully stopped by the bookstore. When she turned sixteen and was able to drive herself, she'd made a habit of going to Barnes and Noble for a couple hours in the afternoon on Fridays to have coffee at the Starbucks café and get her homework done in peace. It became her 'beginning of weekend' ritual, as Melissa had once put it.

She sat at her usual table, in the far corner with her horribly thick reading glasses pushed up high on her nose as she worked out her pre-calculus problems. There was only a few weeks left of school, and some teachers had already started laying on the exam reviews. Scully was too engrossed in her work to notice the presence next to her.

"Look at you: the diligent little worker." a familiar feminine voice startled her. Scully jumped a few inches and clutched her chest as she laughed.

"Jeez, Penny, give me a heart attack why don't you?" she rose from her chair and hugged her mother's best friend, who was also like a second mother to Scully.

"I wouldn't want to do that. Your mother might not like me so much if I killed you." the older woman patted her back and took the seat across from Scully. "Speaking of whom, I hear your mother's little girl has herself a man." she said in a gossip-ready tone.

Scully blushed and closed her book, deciding homework could wait. "Yes, she does. What did you hear from Mom?"

Penny smiled, "This and that, I know that his name is Fox, he's twice your size, and he's about the second sweetest man your mother's ever met."

"The first being dad?" Scully asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Your mom's always thought that though." she stated with the nonchalant wave of her hand.

"Yeah." Scully sighed, then dug through her backpack for the framed picture, not much bigger than the palm of one's hand, and handed it to Penny. "He's really sweet and considerate and…"

"Billy hates him?" the elder female asked.

"Completely." Scully said on a scowl. "Charlie loves him and they're the best of friends, but Bill…he thinks that Mulder's only after one thing."

"Mulder? You call your boyfriend by his last name?" One eyebrow met Penny's wavy hairline as she took a sip of her coffee.

Scully nodded, "It's weird, but it works for us. He calls me Scully, so we're even."

Penny smiled. "Bill's just being an older brother looking out for his baby sister. Don't worry about it right now. If, when you get older, you marry him and he still has a problem, then that's when you worry." She took her first look at the picture that Scully handed her. "He's really cute…and built."

Scully laughed, "Yeah, he's muscled on the outside, but he's just a big teddy bear on the inside. I can't stand next to him without him hugging me."

Penny handed the picture back, "Ah, young love. So cute and so stupid."

"Gee, thanks." Scully joked.

The two talked for a little while longer until Scully realized it was dinnertime in her household. She took off from the bookstore, only to hit rush-hour traffic on the way home. Pulling into the driveway, she noticed Bill and Melissa's cars were lined up in her spot. She pulled up alongside them and braced herself mentally for whatever she was about to walk into.

"Thank God you're here." Charlie hugged his sister, something that rarely happened, as she walked in the door and shucked out of her boyfriend's leather jacket. "Bill and Melissa are camping out in the living room."

"Why, and why is this a bad thing?" Scully asked.

"Bill's got a flat tire and Melissa quote "misses the couch". What's bad about this is that they rented 'Paranormal Activity' and they want me to watch it with them at like midnight so it's dark." Charlie stated the plans for the evening.

"Whoop-dee-doo, you watched it with me and you thought it was just as fake as I did." she stated and set her backpack on the stairs.

"Yeah, but Melissa and Bill are a couple of wusses. Do you remember 'The Exorcist' incident?" he asked.

Scully looked back on the memory, then laughed. "I _told_ Mom and Dad we should've put down papers for Missy."

"Yeah, but I gotta sit with them." Charlie said woefully.

"Aw…I'm sorry. In the meantime, I'm going out so I don't have to listen to Bill or his insults. Tell Mom I won't be home for dinner." Scully grabbed her coat for a second time and threaded her arms through the sleeves.

Charlie got down on his knees, "A: it won't matter if Mom and Dad know because they're going to Gram and Gramps tonight to held them with that old piece of junk car of theirs and they're probably going to spend the night, and B: take me with you?" he begged.

Scully ran her fingers through her hair and thought for a second. "It seems to me you have a choice, Charles. Either you sit with Melissa and Bill through a crap movie, or come with me and watch Mulder and me listen to music and make-out." she smiled evilly.

Her younger brother visibly shuddered at the mental image of his sister and his favorite gaming buddy. "Point taken."

"I thought so." Scully smiled and waved a good-bye as she closed the door behind her.

_**(X)**_

"Come on! Give me ten more." Scully smiled.

Mulder flopped to the floor, sprawled like a dead man. "You're such a sadist."

"And you love it." She ruffled his sweat-drenched hair affectionately and stood up. She found him in the house's own little personal gym, complete with a treadmill, stair-master, weight bench and rowing machine. He'd been doing push-ups on the floor and she graciously decided to help him by sitting on his back as he did so.

He pushed himself up to stand. "I love you, so if sadist comes with the package, then I do."

She threw him a towel to mop up some of the sweat with, which only helped minimally. Mulder stepped toward her to kiss her, but she stepped back. "Shower first. You're all sweaty and gross right now."

He stuck his tongue out at her immaturely as they headed down to his 'cave', as he began calling it. The shower started as she flopped to the bed to lay across it. Scully didn't bother to flicker through the TV channels; she already knew there was nothing on. Five hundred channels and you'd think somebody would be able to come up with a decent show.

She pushed herself up toward the pillows to lie on the bed properly and noticed his iHome on the nightstand with his iPod docked. Interested, she sat up and picked it out of it's resting spot. It was black (big surprise) and was an older classic model.

Since she was bored, Scully scrolled through the songs until she found something familiar. Once she did, she set it to shuffle and didn't really care what popped up next in the list.

Mulder came in a few minutes later to see her curled up in a ball facing away from him. The first thought that came to his head was that she was cold, because it seemed hypothermia was common with her, but that wasn't the case this time. Something was off with her _and_ her choice of music. Whereas she would normally pick something out of his library like Muse or Fall Out Boy, she was listening to "The Scientist" by Coldplay, which he learned she liked when she was sad.

He pulled the shirt on that had been in his hand and climbed onto the bed beside her. "Hey," Mulder said as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Hi." her muffled reply came.

"Are you okay?" he nuzzled her hair.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she said blandly.

Mulder considered it for a moment, "Liar." he stated.

Scully sighed and rolled her eyes. "Really, Mulder, I'm fine. I'm just lying here thinking."

He smiled and tried for levity, "Uh-oh."

Surprisingly, she didn't deck him. "Ha-ha." Scully mocked as she rolled onto her other side, slightly shocked at how close they were. Sharing a pillow, they're noses were barely touching. Ankles were woven together as well as fingers. She smiled when she realized she could've laid there like that with him forever.

"You know, I never did get my kiss." Mulder snapped her out of her thoughts. "Think there's something we can do about my withdrawal?"

"Your withdrawal?" she laughed.

"Yes!" he stated firmly. "I'm suffering from Scully-withdrawal."

"But I'm right here. How can you be suffering from withdrawal if the thing that's been withdrawn is right in front of you?" she giggled.

It was Mulder's turn to sigh. "Oh, Ms. Smartass…is there only one way to get you to shut up?" he asked sarcastically.

Scully knew what way he was thinking about. "Yeah, but there's something I've gotta tell you first." she sat up and picked at a fingernail, trying to be serious.

"What is it?" he asked, not getting up from his spot on the pillow.

A small smile tugged at her mouth as she got up completely and stood at the foot of the bed. She looked straight into his eyes and said, "Catch me if you can." in a rush. She bolted for the stairs as he grumbled and rolled off the bed, cursing her as she went.

She cackled as he scrambled up the stairs in pursuit. Scully closed the door and held it there with her foot, taking the opportunity to think.

Obviously Mulder came to the top of the stair and pushed on the door. "Oh, this just isn't fair, you little…let me out!" he shouted and pounded on the door.

Scully bolted again, and caused her boyfriend to overcome the door and fall to the floor, unable to catch his balance. He grumbled some more and listened to her footsteps blaze a trail up the stairs.

Mulder picked himself up and breathed deeply. He didn't run, but rather walked up the stairs calmly. She was too predictable, he figured, as he saw the door to their room was cracked. Smiling, he pushed it open and saw that nothing was really that off, except for the very quick and slight movement of the pile of pillows in the corner.

He approached the quaking pile soundlessly. For a moment, he wondered if his silence was why his parents had blessed him with his god-awful name. He didn't think about it long, though. Mulder pounced the pile like a wolf after it's prey.

Scully squawked as she fought off the pair of arms that were fishing for her. One arm had found her waist, and even though she tried to wriggle away, she knew it was a vain effort. Soon enough, she was in a suffocating embrace. Just as quickly, she was pinned to the floor, her wrists held down by his own hands.

"Gotcha." he grinned triumphantly.

She couldn't help but smile at the excitement in his eyes. There was something about him that made her want to act like a giddy little girl, which was probably the culprit of her bizarre behavior.

He let go of her wrists and nuzzled into her neck. "Have I told you how much I love you today?"

"Just today?" she joked. Her fingers threaded themselves through his soft hair. "About two or three."

"Good. Just making sure I covered my bases." he breathed in her hair. He wrapped his arms tighter around her as his stomach growled harshly.

"Somebody hungry?" she asked.

"I think the more appropriate term is _something_." he stated. Mulder pushed himself up onto his knees. "You hungry?"

Scully shrugged. "Wouldn't turn something down."

He held his hand out to her and helped her up to her feet. "Feeding time at the zoo." Mulder stated as he led the way down the stair.

_**(X)**_

It was about seven o'clock at night when Teena and William Mulder came up the front steps of their home. The rare thing about it was the fact that they were together for a change. They figured they'd come home to find their son holed up in his basement bedroom working on whatever new project he'd found for himself to work on. Sometimes it was even hard to tell that there was anything or anybody else in the house at all.

Somebody or something, however, was obviously in the house tonight.

Through the front door, they could hear the music that was blaring from the kitchen. The simple fact that it was a song from the just last year had William rolling his eyes.

"If that's my son's idea of a good song, I don't care what you say anymore. He's going to be gay in my book." he stated clearly for his wife, who accordingly smacked him for the comment.

"Now stop that. I already told you your son has a girlfriend." she said harshly as she hung the coats up in the closet.

"And coincidentally, I haven't seen this supposed woman in his life yet." he stated.

William Mulder was very old-fashioned in the way he saw the world. In his book, there were certain ways men and women should act. To him, there should be an air of propriety that should be in effect from both sides of the coin.

He hadn't always thought like that, but the loss of a child made one re-evaluate one's outlook on life.

The two walked into the source of the noise. Both teens, out of key and with wooden spoons in hand, chanted the lyrics of the song while throwing the occasional mini-marshmallow at one another.

"Do you know what it's like when you're not who you wanna be? Do you know what it's like to be your own worst enemy? Who sees the things in me I can't hide…" Mulder and Scully went on, singing into their spoons and acting like goofy teenagers.

"Fox!" his father commanded attention.

Mulder straightened and killed the power to the stereo. Scully watched him go rigid under his father's eye like a soldier. Not knowing exactly what to do, she stood close to him.

"Are you going to introduce us, Fox?" he asked rather blandly, almost uninterested.

"Uh…yeah. Dana Scully, my dad, William Mulder." he gestured nervously.

* * *

_**In case you forgot, there's that button down there to review with. Come on, you know you want to. xD**_


	17. Sickness On a Down

_**Okay, I know this is really short and probably filled with screw-ups, and I'm sorry. I got slammed this week with it being the first week back to school and I got a crapload of homework. I promise I'll have a better chapter by my next due date.**_

_**Chapter Seventeen: **_

Mulder stared at the ceiling of his room, absently fiddling with the edge of his blanket. It had been four-fifteen in the morning the last time he looked at the clock and didn't dare look again. The ugly truth of knowing that he hadn't slept all night was worse if one was aware of it.

The events of the previous evening were on a loop in his head, playing and replaying in his mind's eye like a broken record. Scully had left not long after his parents came home, feeling as self-conscious as ever. She never loosened up, and if she did, it wasn't something she allowed many people to be witnesses to. He'd been happy that she felt comfortable enough around him to not worry about herself so much.

Everyone spread to their usual places afterwards: William to the garage, Teena to the kitchen, and Mulder to his room. Both men found it slightly odd, though, when Teena called them up to the kitchen for dinner…as a family and all together. He remembered the conversation like he remembered the Knicks season scores.

"_Fox, I think it's time we have a little talk." _she'd started.

At first, he was surprised. Neither of his parents _wanted_ to talk to him unless it was serious. _"About?"_

His mother had sighed, _"Hon,…it's about your girlfriend."_

He'd grumbled, which he was asked to repeat intelligibly, _"She has a name, you know."_

She rolled her eyes, _"Fine then, it's about Dana."_

"_What about her?" _Mulder could remember the way he obviously stiffened.

"_Well, it just seems to me that you're spending an awful lot of time with her." _

He heard his nervous chuckled reverberate in his head, _"That would make a lot of sense, seeing as she's my girlfriend and all." _

His mother had looked down the table at her husband, _"You tell him, Bill. I can't do it." _

William looked up for the first time and met his son's eyes. _"What your mother is trying to say is that she doesn't trust you to make safe decisions regarding the fairer sex." _he stated simply.

Mulder rolled on his bed and buried his face in the pillow. God, he'd had the sex talk when he was eleven. There was no need for a repeat performance.

The thought that made him feel worse was that it wasn't for his benefit, nor was it for Scully's, but their own. He knew the last thing that his dear ole mother and father wanted while still trying to make a name for themselves in their somewhat-still-new town was that their son was doing things that weren't good for an image. No one was elite unless they lived and breathed a certain way, including their children.

He'd dealt with the talk in the most peaceful way he could. Mulder wasn't in the mood to fight anyone about anything, especially this particular subject. His parents didn't know Scully from a hole in the ground, and he planned to keep it that way for as long as possible. The less they knew, the less they had to talk about with their gossipy friends.

Mulder looked over at the alarm clock again. _'7:31 a.m. Talk about a good night's sleep.'_ he thought wryly as he crawled out of bed and into the shower.

The hot water pounding against his skin would help clear his foggy head. He was supposed to pick up Scully at nine to go hang out. Knowing he was going to see her, he washed with her favorite Old Spice soap and shampoo. And when he caught a look at himself in the mirror, it was too obvious he hadn't slept the night before. It didn't matter that much, though. He'd gone three days without sleep once.

He pulled on a plain grey t-shirt and a random pair of jeans. He looked out the small window and decided his 'Green Day' hoodie would be a nice addition with the look of the wind.

Coming up the stairs, he noticed the coffee pot had already brewed it's life-giving nectar. He poured himself a cup, black, and sat up on the counter.

"Fox, don't sit on the counter. I don't want your butt where we make food." Teena came out from around a corner and shooed him down to the floor like a dog.

"This is early for you, Mom." he stated matter-of-factly.

She smiled. "Yeah, I thought I might catch you before you ran over to see your girlfriend."

He simply nodded, not really wanting to start this conversation again.

"Fox, can I say something?" she continued.

"Sure, you will anyway." he joked.

She smiled. "I didn't mean any offense by what I said last night. I…I just think I know how these things go. You're a very good-looking young man and Dana's a very beautiful girl…"

"Mom," he cut her off. "I appreciate your concern, but there isn't anything you have to worry about that way. Scully's from a very Catholic family and she's made it clear that she wants to wait, which is perfectly fine with me."

"You say that now." she retaliated.

Mulder rolled his eyes and looked down at his watch. Eight-thirty…it wasn't ungodly early. "I'll see you later, Mom." he stated and took off out the back door and into the drab morning.

_**(X)**_

"Go-od Morning, Scully family! You're the next contestants on 'The Price is Right'!" Mulder joked more cheerfully than he felt.

"I wish." Margaret smiled at him as she washed the morning dishes. "Dana's sick."

"She frew up!" Charlie stated around a mouthful of cereal.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." she reminded him, then turned to the older boy. "She woke up around six and didn't feel right. When she tried to eat, it just came back up." Margaret ran a hand over her eyes.

"Fever?" Mulder asked, as if he were a doctor and could make heads or tails of it.

"Spiked at 103.2 F and now she's down to 102.9. She's on the couch, if you wanna see her. Just don't cover her up. I'm trying to bring her temperature down a bit before she can wrap up." Margaret stated as she moved onto the task of drying silver implements.

"Sure. Where is she?" he asked.

"On the couch. I would've left her in bed, but she'd wrap up too quickly in the covers." she justified.

"Okay." Mulder slipped out of his shoes, realizing he was going to be there awhile, and kicked them to the back door. Charlie came up to the sink with his empty bowl and spoon just as his mother had finished drying and putting away the others. He smirked as he saw her disgusted expression before continuing into the living room.

All he saw at first were bare legs with tiny little feet resting on one arm of the couch. Mulder came up slowly in case she was sleeping, but the sight nearly knocked him back a few feet.

She was barely dressed in a thin camisole and short sleep shorts that didn't even come a quarter of the way down her thigh. Once upon a time, that much of her porcelain skin showing would've been hot. All thoughts similar to that disappeared in a cloud of smoke when he noticed said skin wasn't so porcelain anymore and more comparable to a ghostly white. Her face, however, had a nice green hue to it. And, to top it all off, her entire body shimmered in a clammy sweat, with just enough moisture to make one feel sticky and gross.

The looks of her face didn't alleviate the pressure he felt on his heart though. Her short cap of red hair was mussed and twisted into braids that weren't intended to be there. Her eyes which were, thank God, closed and he couldn't judge what kind of misery they held. She sniffled in her sleep through a stuffed-up nose. That action brought on the small sigh as her mouth opened reluctantly. Her brain was telling her to switch gears in order to bring the oxygen in.

She laid on her back and trembled here and there every once in a while. Mulder looked at her wished he knew how to make her feel better. Anguish was etched into her features so deeply, it left him wondering where his cheerful girlfriend was.

Kneeling down beside the couch, he rested his head on the sensitive inside of her arm. He really didn't want to wake her, but maybe feeling him there would soothe her a little.

Or he hoped.

Slowly but surely, her other arm snaked across her stomach and landed on top of his head. Mulder looked to see if she opened her eyes, but they were still closed. Her fingers wove their way down until that dainty little hand rested on his neck.

"Mulder?" Scully asked hoarsely through a dry throat.

He nodded and watched her force her eyes open. Excess tears and God knew what else had sealed them shut some time ago. The whites were redder than an alcoholic's and the pupils were wider than a crack addict's.

She mumbled something beyond his comprehension. "Come again?"

"C…cold…I'm cold…" she said again.

"I know, but we can't try to get you warm until your fever comes down a bit." he stated the fact. He couldn't imagine how she could be cold. The small touch they shared made it very apparent to him she was hotter than a furnace.

Charlie came up behind him and looked at his sister. "Be careful, Mulder. She can get real manipulative when she's sick."

Scully shifted and mumbled something out incoherently.

"What'd you say?" he asked.

Mulder smiled. "She asked if you wanted to live to see high school."

Charlie looked to him wide-eyed. "You understood that?"

He nodded as picked his head up just enough so her hand would rest weakly on the back of his neck. "It seems her sense of humor isn't lost on her yet."

"Real humorous. The homicide of a sibling. Capital L-O-L." he said flatly. Mulder laughed and Scully even smiled a little.

Margaret came into the room at that time with a thermometer in one hand and a bag of ice wrapped in a dishcloth in the other.

"Temp time, sickly." she stated in a somewhat cheery voice. Scully merely groaned and opened her mouth for the thermometer. Charlie left for his room, bored, to go about his own plans for the day while the other three waited for small electronic stick to do it's job.

Margaret took it the moment it beeped and felt her daughter's forehead after she read it. "You're climbing again, hon. 103.2." She wiped her sticky hand on the dishtowel in her hand.

"A lukewarm bath might help." Mulder suggested.

"Don't expect to see anything." Scully attempted a joke and was coughing by the end of it.

He stuck his tongue out at her. "I don't expect to."

"Alright, children." Margaret smirked a little at their banter. "I will run you a bath if you sit in it for more than five seconds, Dana."

"I like baths." Scully defended weakly.

"Yes, but when you're sick it's like you're doing the hokey-pokey with the tub. You jump in and out like a jack-rabbit." Her mother hopped back and forth to illustrate.

Mulder laughed as his girlfriend rolled and buried her face in the throw pillow, slightly embarrassed. "If I cared enough right now, I'd smack you." she pointed in his general direction as she mumbled.

"You hit me even when you don't care. We both know you're abusive in this relationship." Mulder grinned, then skillfully backed away from her hand that was flapping around, proving his point. "See."

Scully eventually gathered the energy to walk to the downstairs bathroom a mere few feet away. He watched her go, but didn't follow. Mulder had more respect and decorum than to try to tail her to the bathroom, despite what some people might've thought.

Soon after the door closed, he froze for a second. He heard the strains of an acoustic guitar distantly over the water that was running through the pipes. Not quite able to make out what it was, Mulder moved towards the sound. At first the front door, then up the stairs.

It was obvious now. "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. Coincidentally, it had been one of Mulder's personal favorites. He peeked into Charlie's bedroom to see him sitting in the alcove looking over the neighbor's house, strumming the guitar effortlessly as he entered the chorus.

_If I lay here,_

_If I just lay here,_

_Would you lie with me and just forget the world?_

_Forget what we're told,_

_Before we get too old_

_Show me a garden that's bursting into life._

"Not bad," he commented, announcing his presence.

Charlie nearly jumped out of his skin, his guitar held up like a baseball bat now and ready to strike. He calmed down once he realized it was Mulder. "Sorry about that." he mumbled.

"Don't be, but may I say if you sharpen up your CD chord a little, it'd be really good." Mulder came in and sat on the bed then. "Mind if I ask why you were ready to whack my head off?"

"No, it's…nothing. It's nothing." he stated, "I'm fine."

"That must be the Scully family motto." Mulder thought out loud, which earned him a chuckle from his younger counterpart.

Charlie stared at the floor for a hard minute, silent, before he looked up. "You play?"

"Me? The starving artist? Yeah, I do a bit. My parents thought it would help me socialize more. Money down the drain, if you look at it that way, but it's very effective method to impressing the ladies." he smiled, but spoke with a truth in his voice. "It seems that to girls my age, there's nothing hotter than a guy with a guitar in his lap."

"You think you could teach me a thing to two someday?" he asked impishly.

Mulder looked down at his girlfriend's younger brother. He couldn't help but think their little impromptu friendship was a bit odd. Usually family members hated the people that they're relatives went around with. At least, that was the way it happened in his family that was spread out across the country. But, then again, what kinds of stereotypical relationships had he forged with his relatives? Not many.

"Sure. I can give you a few pointers." he replied with a ruffle of Charlie's hair. He chuckled and thanked him.

Mulder left him to his own devices after that, afraid he might get emotional with memories of his own sibling.

* * *

_**Well? I promise in two weeks I'll have a better and longer one for you guys. I'm just adjusting getting back to school right now. The reviews would really be appreciated too. 3**_


	18. Knight in Shining Armor

_**K, so I'm trying to make Diana a little more detestable (if that were possible) and we're just kinda seeing some more of Scully's teenage-girl fears. DanH2010 gave me a great idea for my next chapter, but you're gonna have to read and review if you wanna see it. XD **_

_**Chapter Eighteen:**_

After Scully cleaned herself up and her fever broke, she finally fell asleep against Mulder's chest wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket. The two were cuddled up together on the end of the couch that reclined; her thoughts in dreamland, his on the supposed reality he was so blissfully in.

Her head rested right above his heart. It made Mulder wonder if she could hear his heartbeat, if she'd fallen asleep to it's steady rhythm. Scully's chest rose and fell with her deep unconscious breathing. The way she was laying against him, he could easily feel the slight graze of her body against his own.

Mulder took a deep breath himself. He shouldn't be so turned on by his sick girlfriend. _'Damned hormones,'_ he thought and sat up a little straighter, causing Scully to stir and nestle further into him. He sighed quietly and hugged her even closer still.

His thoughts started to wonder. Never before had his life been such an open book to anyone, nor had he wanted it to be. He absently twirled a lock of her hair around his fingers, forcing himself to clear his mind and relax for once.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a familiar congested voice asked with a sniffle. A dainty arm reached out to the coffee table for the remote as she did so.

"You're awake?" he asked.

"When you nearly bucked me off the couch, yeah, I woke up. I'm not that sound of a sleeper." she mumbled as she flipped through the channels, stopping on the classic movie channel.

"I'm sorry." Mulder apologized with a kiss to the top of Scully's head. "Are you hungry? You haven't eaten all day." he pointed out.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious, and maybe a little." she softened.

"Your mom made some homemade chicken soup before she left." he stated.

"She left?" Scully asked.

"Yeah. She and Charlie took off to run some errands about an hour ago. She said she trusted me to take care of you for a little bit." Mulder rubbed her shoulders in order to warm her up.

Scully groaned. "Great, not only am I sick, I need a sitter too."

He ignored her comment and wriggled himself out from underneath her, disappearing into the kitchen.

She sat upright and reached for a tissue out of the box. Blowing her nose into it fiercely, Scully tossed it into the wastebasket that had taken up residence beside the couch. Looking back at the coffee table, she realized it looked like the idiot's survival kick to the flu. Tissues, a thermometer, ibuprofen, a jar of Vicks vaporub, a mug that smelled like chamomile, and Scully's favorite pair of fuzzy socks were strewn about the usually bare table.

Scully grabbed the jar of Vicks and dipped her fingers into it, coating them in the thick gelatin. Moving the pendants of her necklaces behind her neck, she rubbed substance over her chest. She sighed in relief as the scent traveled up to her nose and tickled her skin.

Mulder stood in the doorway with a bowl of hot soup, watching the simple action take place. He didn't even notice when she looked up and stared at him questioningly.

"Mulder? Are you okay?" she asked hoarsely before a rough cough took over her ability to speak.

It was loud enough to snap him out of his reverie. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." he came and sat down next to her, handing her the bowl of soup.

She ate about half of it, which had Mulder relaxing a little knowing she had a little fuel in her system. Not long after she'd pushed her bowl aside, Scully laid her head down in Mulder's lap and curled herself up into a ball to warm up faster.

"You're a very good pillow." she complimented.

"That's good to know." he deduced.

Queequeg jumped up onto the couch next to them, looking to Mulder to be petted. Instead, Scully reached out hugged him like a child would a stuffed animal. The dog didn't mind as he huddled up against his owner to share the warmth.

"Have I mentioned how adorable I think you are?" Mulder asked.

"A couple of times before, but I don't think this is one of those times." she nuzzled her dog's head with her nose, sneezing directly afterward and scaring Queequeg away.

He tucked her hair behind her ear as she made a horrible, drowning sound. "You really are."

"I'm about as desirable as a rat right now, Mulder." she stated.

He chuckled a little. "I love you."

"I love you, too, hon." he could feel her small smile against his leg.

It wasn't even funny how badly he wanted to kiss her right then. Despite her flu, her mild moodiness, and the fact she was blowing her nose like a foghorn ever five seconds, his previous statement was usually followed up with some form of affection. Whether it be French kiss or a suffocating hug, Mulder found out quickly he didn't like to leave that statement just lingering in the air.

He poked Scully gently in the shoulder with two fingers.

"Hmm?" came a muffled reply.

"Can I have a hug?"

She rolled onto her back, her bloodshot eyes questioning his. "I'm the sick one. Shouldn't I be the one being doted on?"

Mulder pretended to consider this for a second. "Alrighty then." He pushed her up to a sitting position, which had her doubling over coughing. When the wave ceased, he pulled her slight frame back over so she could sit across his lap. He rubbed small circles over the small of her back as he went back to the movie he was only half-watching.

Scully, however, sat stoic for a moment. She felt so small next to him sometimes. And more often than not nowadays, unworthy of him. Who else honestly wanted to spend a Saturday comforting a sick person?

Sniffling, she gingerly wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head lightly on his shoulder, whispering "I don't deserve you."

That sentence didn't sit well with Mulder. "Please don't say that."

Her tired eyes finally overflowed, the tears dribbling down her cheeks. "What did I do, Mulder? What did I do to get so damned lucky?"

"We've gone over this before, Scully." Mulder lifted her face into his hands. "Listen, why don't I take you upstairs where you can get some real sleep?"

It sounded like heaven. "I don't want to sleep."

"Why not? You were just a few minutes ago." he stated as he brushed away a few tears.

"Mulder, I wasn't asleep. I was just resting my eyes. They…they just hurt a bit. That's all." Scully pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes and rubbed a little.

He watched her quizzically for a moment, then lifted her up into his arms. Surprised, she quickly wrapped her weak limbs around him to balance herself.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked.

"Up to bed. You haven't slept well in a week." It wasn't a question, it was a fact.

Her eyes went wide. "How'd-?"

"You just told me." Mulder kicked in her bedroom door, smacked Queequeg off her pillow, and set her down in between the covers. Once he got her tucked in, he knelt down beside her and placed his head next to hers. They were close enough that her red rough nose touched the tip of his. "You wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm sick, isn't that wrong enough?" she tried to dodge the question.

"I know it's not exams, because you did so well on the state tests you don't have exams. I know it's not Monica's insanity because she went to her grandparents for the week, God help them. I know it's not Bill because he hasn't even been talking to you lately…" Mulder trailed off as he waited for her response.

Scully laced her fingers through his. She had to appreciate how little she had to say in order for him to understand. This time, however, there was only one word that needed to be said and anyone would automatically get it.

"Diana."

His reply came almost too fast to interpret. "What's she done to you?"

She knew that deep tone in his voice; the one that was meant to be feared. "J-just a little of this and that. Nothing big, really."

Mulder didn't buy it for a second. "I don't believe that. If it wasn't bothering you, you wouldn't be telling me _or_ losing sleep over it."

Scully covered her eyes with one hand, reached out to take his with the other. "She's just…just trying to pick a fight. She wants me to get mad at her so I'll just finally slap her one day."

"She's running out of time for that. We've only got a little over a month of school left." he brushed her knuckles over his cheek tenderly.

"You didn't shave today." she didn't open her eyes.

"Something else wrong?" he asked when she wouldn't meet his eyes. It was so easy to tell when she wasn't telling him something.

Scully took her hand back and shoved it into her pillowcase, her not-so-secret hiding spot for things she didn't need her mother or brother finding. Pulling out a blank white envelope, she handed it to him. "I found this taped to my locker the other day."

Mulder watched her for a moment longer, prepared himself for the worst, then opened the envelope.

_To the red-haired bitch it concerns:_

_I'm giving you one last chance to back off before I start playing dirty. If you think, even for a second, that you're going to come out on top of this, you're SADLY mistaken. Every minute you're with him is a gift from me, so treat them like they were your last. _

_Clock's ticking._

_~D. _

He wadded up the note and threw it in the general direction of the garbage can, missing it by a mile, then had to ask, "Why does she refer to me like I'm a piece of her property that's on loan?"

Scully merely shook her head. "I don't know. I do know she's full of it, but some of the stuff she says hurts sometimes."

Then, in an act of a desperate man, Mulder covered her cold, cracking lips with his own soft ones. It was an attempt at comfort, which Scully selfishly didn't have the heart to stop. It felt like it had been weeks since he kissed her like that when in reality it was less than a day ago.

"You're gonna get sick." she indicated after he pulled away.

"Easily." he smiled. "I can't say it wasn't worth it, though."

_**(X)**_

Monday afternoon couldn't have come soon enough for anyone. Of course, with it being two-thirty and no work left to do, Scully's sixth period history class was all in an uproar. Paper airplanes glided through the air, feet were propped up on desks, and, as what seemed to be the ritual nowadays, Diana and her posse were huddled in the back corner, making jokes and pointing at her.

She coughed like she was drowning, the final stretch of her cold taking it's natural course. Scully sat alone by the front window. She stared out into the sunshine and crisp-cut lawn of the school with a book propped up in her hand, forgotten. This class had to be her least-favorite of the day. There was no one to talk to, people who hated her guts, and the people who were just plain idiots.

Sighing, she rubbed her eyes and was ready to go back to her book when she caught a glimpse of the color black in the corner of her eye. Thinking nothing of it, she went back to her new book. This one, the Stephen King classic "'Salem's Lot", was just starting to get interesting when her little bubble of ignorance was shattered by a voice.

"Didn't think you went for that kind of reading." Mulder's head, balanced on his folded arms, was placed just at the spine of her book. Even on his knees, he could still meet her eyes if he straightened up to full height.

She didn't even look up, "There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Tossing her page-marker between the two pages, she closed it and put it in her bag, suddenly finding new entertainment. "What are you doing here?" she asked as he pulled over a chair.

"Finished my work, so there's really no purpose of Study Hall if there's no work." he sounded like a duck. It didn't take the sneeze that followed his sentiment to prove to her that he was sick. She'd been right when she said he was going to get sick, but she still had yet to hear him complain about it.

"You're voice is really different." she smiled.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." he said falsely.

Scully didn't dare chance a look over her shoulder to see if Diana was trying to burn holes in the back of her head with her glare, but she knew she was. It was one of those looks that just made the hairs on the back of someone's neck stand on end.

"If you're wondering if she's willing you to drop dead with her eyes, then yes, she is." Mulder whispered, not that it mattered in the raucous that was room 273.

"I figured that." she said, then smiled slyly, "Let her stew, she's the one who's doing this to herself."

Mulder looked at her adoringly. "Have I told you how beautiful you look today?"

Scully laughed, then saw he was serious. "Mulder, I'm wearing a black t-shirt, _your_ 'Green Day' hoodie, and my suicide jeans. Not exactly the perfect outfit."

He shook his head. "Doesn't mean you don't look great in it."

"I can't take this anymore." The pair heard the back corner beginning to get a little more animated. Their ring-leader was trying to stand up, but the two on either side of her held her down.

"D, come on, breathe." one of them said, which Diana eventually did sit back down amongst her friends.

"What the hell does he see in her?" she asked rhetorically.

A brunette on the other side of her shrugged. "She's smart, and she's not exactly a troll."

Diana rolled her eyes. "Thank you for that astute once-over, Ashley."

"Hey, you asked!" she replied.

"I was being sarcastic." the other fired back.

Mulder couldn't help the chuckle that came up, but Scully still didn't look right. There was something wrong, she just couldn't put her finger on what it was.

After twenty more minutes of mindless chatter, the bell finally rang and hundreds of teenage bodies were swarming for the exits. The couple went with the crowd and managed their way down the packed stairwell to their lockers. They stopped at Mulder's first and he dug through the rubble he called 'stuff" to find one of his textbooks. Scully was keeping both eyes peeled, scanning the hallways for her arch nemesis.

"Would you relax?" his head finally resurfaced and he shut the door to small little closet.

Scully sighed. "I'm starting to get tired of hearing that from you." he followed her down the hallway a few feet and stopped in front of her own locker.

"If you did it, then you'd stop hearing it." he reasoned. He dropped his bag on the floor next to her wrapped his arms around her waist. He nuzzled her neck with his nose as best he could, but the hood of the sweatshirt kept getting in the way.

"You better not be using me as a Kleenex, buster." she warned.

He shook his head the negative and stiffened. Something in the air around them changed. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he straightened to attention.

"What's-" Scully didn't get to finish her statement before she heard a feminine growl and the sound of metal dragging across the porcelain floor. By the time she looked up, the action had already happened.

She turned to see Diana wielding an aluminum baseball bat that had obviously been on a collision course with Scully's head not moments ago. Luckily, Mulder had caught the shaft of the bat between his arms and held it there like it was caught in a pair of scissors. She tried to pull it free, but he wasn't having it. Mulder caught it in one hand, tore it from her grasp, and tossed it down the now scarcely-populated hallway.

Nobody said a word as the staring contest happened and Scully shut her locker and spun the combination lock once around. Still silence as Mulder wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her out to the parking lot. He was even still quiet when they got into her car.

"What the hell happened back there?" she asked, more than a little startled.

He sniffled harshly, then mumbled, "That bitch just tried to kill you."

"Oh, come on, Mulder. She's a horrible person, but I don't think she's homicidal." she reasoned as she started the car and let her old beater start to warm up.

He looked at her incredulously, "You were suspicious of Donnie Pfaster when he touched your head, but you're not even curious when Diana Fowley tries to do this…" he pushed up his sleeves, "to your skull."

Scully bit her bottom lip as she looked at his arms. The red was already settled in, the purple beginning to ebb where he'd taken the hardest hit. "How do you even do that?" she asked.

"Do what?" he asked in a softer tone.

"Do that whole little comic-book-psychic thing where you see what's gonna happen to me." She asked as she began to back out of her parking spot, suddenly needing something else to focus on other than his injury.

Mulder shrugged, "You live in my old neighborhood, you're sixth sense for danger develops fast. Eventually it's just a reflex."

"Oh, my protective prince." Scully deadpanned.

He merely smiled at that.

* * *

_**Review...now?...Please?...**_


	19. Right Where You Belong

_**K, so the first half of this chapter is dedicated to DanH2010, because she gave me this fantastic idea of Mulder and Scully with one of those little creepy robot babies that people use to learn child-care, but no matter what way my stupid brain thought of it, I couldn't make it into a full chapter, sadly. I want to get around to Bill and Tara's wedding soon too, so I decided to combine the two of these. I hope it's good. Happy reading. xD**_

_**Chapter Nineteen:**_

Spring had finally come to the residents of Maryland. The warm sunshine had finally come out from behind the dark rain clouds so much so that when you walked on the dirt, it didn't feel like a swamp anymore. The dew on the grass now dried by eleven o'clock. It was about two o'clock now, and Mulder was starting to get a little frustrated.

"You know, I can't draw a moving target." Mulder teased lightly as he met her eyes over the edge of his sketchbook.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." the woman laughed, then sobered quickly.

"Jeez, honey, let the man work." her husband ribbed. She rolled her eyes at him absently.

Mulder smiled at the couple as they sat under the willow tree. He'd gone to the park without a particular subject in mind to draw when this sweet couple, probably early to mid-thirties, asked him if he'd be willing to sketch them. Being happy to oblige, he'd asked them to sit underneath his favorite tree in the park (it was one he and Scully frequented on the weekends) and had been working the charcoal sketch for the last half hour.

"Don't worry about it." Mulder reassured. "My girlfriend is ten times worse than you are at this."

"Aw…you have a girlfriend? I was just thinking you'd be perfect for my niece." She sounded kindly disappointed.

He smiled as he gently smudged the line he drew. "Sorry, I'm a one-woman man."

"What's she like?" she asked.

"Honey…" he warned again.

"I can talk, just putting on the finishing details." Mulder said as he readjusted himself to a more comfortable position and cracked his neck. "Her name's Dana. She's red-headed and kinda short. Beautiful inside and out." he shrugged, "In my mind, I won the lottery."

"Aww…that's adorable." the woman placed a hand on her chest, touched. Her attention was taken off him, now on something behind him. "Would that be her there?" she asked.

Mulder didn't turn around, but rather closed his eyes and breathed deeply. When he opened them again, he nodded. "Yep, that's her."

The woman looked at him funny, then looked back over him to the woman was still coming towards them. She suddenly stopped next to Mulder and sat on top of the rock he was leaning against.

"Hey, hon." he greeted her still without looking up.

"Hi, Foxy-four-eyes."

He looked at his subjects, who were trying not to laugh, and then up to his girlfriend's eyes, everything about his face saying 'seriously?'.

"You just wait and see. One of these days I'm gonna torture Monica and then we'll see who's laughing." He stated as he signed his drawing, paying no attention to anyone.

"I'm sorry, Mulder, but she told me to say that the next time I saw you with your glasses on." Scully apologized and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." he pecked her on the cheek as he shook the can of hairspray a bit, then coated his entire drawing in the aerosol spray.

"What does that do?" the woman got up and stretched her legs as she asked.

"It's a fixative. It's so it won't smudge when you handle it." he replied. Scully coughed at the smell as he tore the page cleanly out of his book.

They thanked him heavily, and the woman's husband slipped Mulder a fifty dollar bill, which made Mulder thank them. Scully smiled at the exchange and rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder the second they were alone.

"I love how you can just sit out here and do what you love and people will pay you for it. That's awesome." she said quietly.

"I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you had to work today." Mulder packed up his stuff a little before he wrapped an arm around her.

Scully worked at Applebee's as a seating hostess and an occasional waitress when she need be. "Rachel called and gave me an earlier shift because Mandy couldn't come in. Her son's sick. Which I was happy with because now we have the rest of the day together." she smiled.

Mulder had to grin. "And what exactly did you have in mind for the rest of today?" he asked.

She pondered that for a moment. "I haven't eaten since six o'clock this morning and all that I had was half a light cream-cheese bagel, so I want food to start. And I feel sticky and disgusting, so I want a shower."

He laughed, "That's entirely doable."

She smiled a little too, "But do you know what I really want?" she asked quietly.

Mulder searched her eyes, but he came up blank. "No clue."

Scully wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her forehead into his neck. "I really want a long, heated make-out session with my boyfriend."

He nuzzled her with his chin and whispered, "I think I can pencil you in." with a Cheshire-cat smile.

_**(X)**_

"Hon, it's kind of creepy-looking." William Scully assessed.

"It is not creepy; it's life-like." Margaret Scully countered as they stood looking over what she'd brought home in the kitchen.

"A little too life-like if you ask me." he returned. The pair heard the front door open, close, and voices and looked in the general direction of the front of the house.

"Who's there?" Margaret called.

Scully jumped into the kitchen randomly with a very serious look on her face, "Special Agent Dana Scully, FBI." she then started to chuckle.

Mulder came in behind her and looked at his girlfriend's parents. "She was fine a minute ago."

Her face fell as her elders laughed at their daughter's goofiness. It was then that she noticed the child's car seat that was perched on the counter in front of them. "Early present for Tara and Bill?" she asked.

"No, by the way Mulder, did Dana ask you to the wedding?" Margaret asked him.

He straightened, "No, she didn't tell me about it." Mulder looked down at Scully, who now clung to his side like a welcomed leech. "M'lady?"

"Is it possible for you to find a suit in a week?" she asked with hopeful eyes.

"Yes, I own one, so it's rather possible." Mulder stated. "What day?"

"May 31st." Margaret supplied.

Scully brought her hand down to intertwine his fingers with her own. "It's our first Saturday out of school." she whispered a little sadly. "Monica already told me she has to work so she can't make it and I'd like to dance with someone I'm not related to."

"Hey, your cousin Jimmy is always excited to dance with you." William told his daughter.

She sighed, "I've danced with him at every Scully-palooza since I was born. And no offense, Dad, but he's got a crush on me."

Mulder's eyebrows met his hairline at the thought. He nodded, "Count me in, I'll save you from your family."

"Thank you." Scully smiled happily and hugged him more completely.

"Oh, come now, Dana. We're not that bad." Margaret stated as she played with the car seat.

"Seriously, Mom; what is that?" Scully came around to see a very life-like doll in the seat. It had bright green eyes and scant little bit of brown hair underneath his white hat. "It kinda looks like Mulder." she smiled.

"Okay, what's going on over here?" He looked over Scully's shoulder at the doll and he had to agree with her. At about six or seven months old, the doll was a close representation of what he probably looked like at said age.

"I got it from my friend who teaches child care classes down at the community college. I thought it would be good practice for Tara." Margaret explained. "It's one of those fancy ones that cries and fusses and you have to change it's diapers."

Scully picked it up and heard it make a noise, a slight whimpering almost. "We had to play with these in eighth grade. Did you ever have to do this, Mulder?"

He watched her handle the disturbing doll. "In my poor neighborhood, no. We got an egg with the old 'Wal-mart' happy face logo on it for the weekend. Brought it back with no cracks and not eaten, easy A."

She rolled her eyes. "These things make you realize that you don't want children right away. I remember I had to take mine home and it was programmed to wake up and cry at random intervals throughout the night. Really sucked."

Margaret smiled. "Did I ever write your teacher a 'thank you' note for that one?"

Scully gave her mom a dirty look. She put the doll back into it's car seat gently. "I just came home for a shower and a change of clothes. We were going to go hang out, but I feel grubby."

"Grubby? You're going to have to make me a special Scully dictionary." Mulder teased. She stuck her tongue out at him and disappeared up the stairs.

He looked back down at the fake baby in it's fake car seat, considering it. Mulder could see where it would be a useful tool for soon to be parents or a terror to scare horny teens away from the opposite sex, but just to play with was a bit odd. He scratched it's stomach like he might a real infant, but it didn't respond. "This thing would creep me out too much." he stated to Mr. and Mrs. Scully.

Margaret looked to William, who looked back at her with an equal look. She stepped forward. "Fox, can we talk to you about something?"

Mulder gratefully looked away from the doll. "Of course, Mrs. Scully." He walked around the counter to sit on one of the barstools.

"Fox…" she started uneasily, "…um…this isn't easy, so if you'll bear with me."

"What Mrs. Scully is trying to say…" William stood up behind his wife. "…is that we're concerned about our daughter."

"Dana? What's…" Mulder went silent for a moment, not looking directly at them, then put two and two together in his head. "Oh…"

Margaret was quick to explain. "It's not that we don't trust you or Dana or anything, it's just…we see how much time the two of you spend together, and when you're a parent, there's a red-flag that goes off in your brain."

Mulder nodded. "I understand where you're coming from, I got the same talk from my own folks. I know words don't mean much, but Dana's made it clear that she wants to wait. There's that, and I don't believe that…_that_… equates to love anyway."

She smiled, but he could tell she was still uneasy, which he was starting to believe was a natural trait she carried. "We don't mean to accuse you of anything." Maggie reassured.

"I don't blame you." Mulder bowed his head thoughtfully. "We're living in a time where everything is sexualized and every word that comes out of somebody's mouth has a double meaning. All the romance is gone and everybody has to look like Pamela Anderson or Ashton Kutcher to measure up to someone else's standards. It's ridiculous." he began grumbling towards the end of his little tirade.

William came up behind Mulder and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You officially have my permission to marry my daughter."

The younger male laughed. He then looked back at the mechanical baby and picked it up. The head tilted back too far and the baby started wailing on cue as Scully came back into the kitchen.

"Mulder! You made mini-Fox cry!" she reprimanded as she combed through her wet hair.

He nervously put it back, afraid of it now.

_**(X)**_

A few days had passed since the little creepy-doll escapade, followed by a very private hour Mulder and Scully had shared parked down by the harbor. It was Tuesday, and the pair only had to make it through two more half-days of school before the freedom of summer would strike them like a gong. Mulder could already picture the make-shift confetti of old test with 'D+' scribbled on them in red ink. The thought put a smile on his face.

The young couple were currently curled up in a comfortable corner of Scully's living room. Mulder had his back to the wall and Scully in between his legs. He thought he'd died and gone to heaven when she leaned into him and used his head as a shoulder. Her attention wasn't really focused on him, though. It was more so diverted in the book in her hands.

"You are probably the only person I know who reads Dickens for fun." Mulder said as he rested his own head next to hers on her shoulder.

Scully smiled a bit. "Hey, it's a classic." she defended.

"A very thick, hard to understand classic." he countered.

"I understand it just fine." she shrugged.

"My little nerd." he gave her a squeeze and kissed the back of her neck sweetly.

She chuckled and leaned into him further. She'd just readjusted her glasses when she heard a throat clear from a ways away. Scully glanced over at Bill's slightly reddened face. He was as old-fashioned as an eighty-year-old man. As of late, instead of being angry at Mulder, he seemed embarrassed whenever he walked in on his baby sister and her boyfriend.

She sobered and went back to her book, still a little resentful of him. She knew if she didn't get Bill and Mulder to make peace with each other before the wedding this weekend, there was the possibility that things could get a little messy and (just what her parents would love) a scene could be made. But she refused to be the one to make the first move. Neither her nor Mulder had done anything wrong and Bill had to get over whatever prejudice he had against him.

He was still watching them after Scully had averted her attention. Mulder, who always felt a little uneasy with Bill, held Scully even closer and buried his face into her neck. Whether it was a sign of affection or the use of a human shield, she wasn't quite sure, but the last thing she was going to ask him to do was to move.

Bill went on into the kitchen to find his mother, in which he was successful. "Hey Mom."

Maggie Scully looked up from the stacks of bills she was sorting through. "Hi, hon." she returned. "Not much longer to go now."

He breathed, "Yeah." The wedding was a mere days away, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't have a few jitters. "Dana and him are out there in the living room." he stated randomly.

Maggie didn't look up. "_Him_ has a name, you know." She was beginning to feel her daughter's argument in her own heart. This little feud had been going on far too long about far too little.

"I know…_Fox_. Who name's their kid Fox, honestly?" Bill muttered.

"Mine did." Mulder came into the room casually, startling the living daylights out of Bill as he strolled over to the refrigerator.

Maggie chuckled internally at her son's flinching. "Why did your parents name you Fox…Fox?"

Mulder pulled out two Propels, shook them absently as he shrugged. "I think they hated me, but then again I've always been really quiet. Sneaky. I like to think the latter."

"Bastard." Bill muttered under his breath.

Mulder paused, sighed silently, then continued his course back to the living room.

That tore it for Margaret Scully though. Slamming her pen down on the countertop, smashing it literally into a thousand pieces, she stared right into her eldest child's eyes with a deep blaze. "I've had about enough of this."

He slipped out of the kitchen at that second, just before the yelling ensued. Mulder didn't want to be in the middle of something that was most likely a family issue concerning him. He'd been around enough fighting in his life, both in family and with so-called friends, that he knew when flight was better than fight.

Scully came up behind him, her glasses gone now. "What's wrong?" she asked.

His voice was hushed. "Sounds like all hell's breakin' loose to me."

She stepped around him and went into the war zone, though he tried to stop her.

"I've had it up to _here_ with this nonsense, William Scully Jr. This has been going on for months now and it comes to an end _right now!"_ Maggie Scully didn't yell or scream, but rather spoke in a quietly menacing voice that seemed even worse.

Scully looked at her brother, who's jaw was set and seemed equally as angry. "I refuse to like him. It's as simple as that." he seethed.

"I'm not asking you to like him, I'm _telling_ you to tolerate him. You've been fighting with your sister for months on this and it's become simply ridiculous!" Margaret stated. "Honestly, this has nothing to do with you or me or your father. Whatever happens between Fox and Dana is their business, and they deserve to at least be treated like the conscious young adults they are." she breathed in deeply and out just as hard. "Now Fox _is_ coming to the wedding as Dana's guest. I would appreciate it if you could act your age and at least act like he's a human being."

Maggie looked over at her daughter, "Is there anything you'd like to add to that, Dana?"

Scully's arms were folded over her chest and moved slightly as she gave a little shrug. "All I've wanted from the start was for everybody to just get along." she whispered.

Bill sighed and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Look, I'm sorry Danes. I didn't want to hurt you."

"But that's all you've been doing for months." she said softly and didn't meet his gaze.

"I know, and I feel like an idiot." He bent down to look at her, but she turned her eyes away. "I…I'm your big brother and I'm supposed to look after you."

"That doesn't entitle you to abuse my friends." she stated.

"I know, I'm sorry. I-" she held up her hand to cut him off.

"Don't apologize to me. He's the one you should be saying you're sorry to." Scully pointed towards the living room to indicate Mulder.

Bill sighed even deeper than before. He knew this was coming.

Both he and his younger sibling stepped out into the living room, only to find it empty. Scully called his name, but there was no response. She thought he might've just left to avoid being caught in the middle of something, but it wasn't like him to just leave without a good-bye, whether it be a kiss or a hug. It wasn't until she noticed the little sticky note stuck to the cover of her book that had her heart slamming inside her chest did she realize what happened.

She'd read the small note and raced for the front door, grabbing her leather jacket and storming out the front door.

"What the…?" Bill looked over to see what had gotten his sister so upset. He rolled his eyes when he read it.

"_Everything would be so much easier for you if I wasn't here. All my love. ~M." _

_**(X)**_

He sat in the bay window at the front of his living room. He'd expected her to follow him, to find him. He had the thought of finding a better hiding place than his house, but he really did want to see her. He needed to see her. Knowing he had probably put the fear of God in her with that note, it didn't rest well in his heart that he'd written it, but she needed to know.

Mulder hadn't realized how screwed up her life was anymore since he'd come into it. Everything seemed to be going so smoothly for her until he came in and ruffled everyone's feathers. Bill especially, for some reason, wanted his head on a silver platter.

But there wasn't any going back now, in his mind. He was too deeply in love with her now to just retract everything that had happened over the last few months. He hadn't even really wanted to leave the house that day, and thinking on it now, he probably shouldn't have. The one thing that had him leaving was the fact that he knew from experience how ugly little family disputes could get, and avoided them at all costs.

He saw the black Impala whip into the driveway and a leather-clad redhead running through the rain (it had been a very wet spring) to the front door. The doorbell rang a total of five times in rapid succession and the knocking on the door was also impatient as well.

Mulder went to the door, knowing it was her. He opened it and didn't see, but felt something strike him in the chest. It felt like a linebacker just charged at him until he looked down and saw the damp red hair. Her scent hit him next of simple soap and light perfume.

"Don't do that to me." Scully said, muffled by the way she was burying her head into his shoulder. Her arms had a death grip around his waist.

'_Okay, big mistake in leaving. Bravo, Fox, bravo.' _"I'm sorry, Scully. I didn't know what else to do."

"If you had stayed five more seconds, I could've gotten Bill to apologize to you and get him flying straight with you." she looked up at him, her chin pressed up against his chest.

Mulder sighed and rested his hands against her back. "He's partially right, though. I don't deserve you."

Scully was just about sick of that sentence. "Maybe not, and maybe I don't deserve _you._ But I love you too damn much to look for anybody else." she stood up on her tip toes in order to press her face into his neck.

"I love you too, Scully. So much." It was his turn to wrap his arms around her small frame.

"Then stop talking about being unworthy." she pulled back to meet his eyes. "You're the most wonderful guy I've ever met and don't doubt it for a second.

Mulder watched her eyes, trying to see any doubt that she might harbor or any sign of untruthfulness. Finding none, he kissed her hard on the lips, in an attempt to convey everything he felt for her.

It was a wasted effort, however. She already knew.

* * *

**_I hope that wasn't too painful. I'm sorry these updates are kinda suckish. I'm thinking about some sink-your-teeth-into-it soap opera stuff for a few of my next updates. And I mean like full-on angst and drama. There's so much of it swirling around me through my friends right now that it's easy inspiration. What does anybody think about that?_**

**_Next chapter's the wedding XD. Fun stuff to come if you click that review button. (that sounds kinda wrong...XD)_**


	20. Love From The Inside Out

_**So, here this is. I have no idea what's wrong with it because it's almost eleven o'clock at night here and it's a school night, so I'm sorry about any typos, but I don't think there's that many. Thanks to DanH2010 for helping me develop this idea. **_

_**The song at the beginning of this is "Kings and Queens" by 30 Seconds to Mars. Good American teenage angst song to start things off. XD**_

_**Chapter Twenty:**_

_Into the night,  
Desperate and broken,  
The sound of a fight  
Father has spoken_

_We were the kings and queens of promise  
We were the victims of ourselves  
Maybe the children of a lesser god  
Between Heaven and Hell  
Heaven and Hell_

Scully stared out her favorite window in the living room listening to her iPod as Melissa put the finishing touches on the bachelorette party decorations. She was finding it hard to fathom that her conservative mother agreed to such an event, but then Dana doubted her mother knew her eldest daughter's intentions with the evening.

Melissa was just setting out the food as the doorbell rang. "Danes? Can you get that? You know, try to be helpful?"

She rolled her eyes. Mulder was going to be by to pick her up to take her back to his place for their weekly Friday movie night as soon as he got off work from his 'real' job down at the community center. He'd taken up a job for teaching a couple of different courses there to people who looked like they belonged in the cast of "Desperate Housewives". Women in their thirties and forties who weren't really all that interested in art, but the young cute boy who was teaching it. It all worked well for her, though. By the time he was done he came home and was so happy to be next to her, his own girlfriend who he loved, worshipped, and was his own age, that took extra care to be affectionate.

Scully promised him the one thing she would never complain about was him being 'too affectionate' with a large smile.

"DANA! ANSWER THE DOOR!" Melissa hollered from the kitchen, snapping Scully from her thoughts and had her running for the repeatedly ringing doorbell.

She opened the door for the large group of women, like a dam burst and they flooded into the parlor. Some Scully recognized, but most she didn't. They were talking amongst themselves like the clique-girls in her school, not even aware they were walking until they sat down somewhere.

'_Hi, how are you? My name is Dana. Please come in.' _Scully muttered to no one closed the door with a flick of her wrist and took the stairs two at a time to go up to her room.

"Dana!" she heard her name called for the third time. She looked over to see her mother and sister looking at her in an effort to call her back. "Come down and meet everybody!"

Scully froze. Of course she had to meet people the night she looked more emo than she ever had before in her life. She caught flashes of her childhood where there was nothing but fluffy skirts and white turtleneck sweaters. She looked down at her haphazard clothes. She was in her classic suicide jeans, a black and red t-shirt that read "My Boyfriend's a Vampire", and a white and red "30 Seconds To Mars" hoodie, which, of course, belonged to Mulder. Fiddling with his ring that rested against her chest. _"Mulder, if you can hear me, save me." _she thought.

Turning around and descending the stairs once again, she politely smiled at all of the women who were going to be bridesmaids and close friends of Tara's whom Scully would probably forget in the next fifteen minutes. They looked at her with the infamous 'stink-eye' she was accustomed to getting at school. Biting her tongue against saying something insulting, Scully excused herself to her room after that to put herself together for her night with someone she cared to be with.

Grateful to be in her room, Scully closed the door and locked it. She then went to the closet and looked over her shoulder once, paranoid that she wasn't alone. Scully unburied the Macy's bag hidden in the corner and pulled out what would most likely be deemed her 'suicide shirt'.

It was a simple black halter top that Monica basically begged her to buy. With a blood-red scarf around her neck, Scully had to admit it was an amazing shirt. It clung and loosened in all the right places with a perfect neckline. Figuring her mom would be too busy attending to her guests to pay an excessive amount of attention on her, Scully thought she could manage to escape with a black sweater to match.

"Dana! Mulder's here!" someone called from the first floor, which had Scully quickening her pace. Once she'd decided she looked decent, Scully descended the stairs as quickly as she had climbed them earlier. What she walked in on, however, was slightly different than when she'd left.

Her boyfriend had been taken an unwilling prisoner in the bizarre dance that the young women were performing. Scully actually was starting to wonder if they were on anything when Mulder broke free of the little satanic circle of females to come to her side.

"Get me outta here." he mumbled into her ear. She chuckled. Scully called to her mom that she was leaving and headed out into the dark, eerily silent night.

_**(X)**_

Mulder followed the cheap piece of plastic with his eyes from his very uncomfortable position. It seemed like an eternity for the simple dial to decide either his or his girlfriend's fate, but he waited as patiently as he could. Scully groaned a little, but she'd made it adamantly clear before they'd even started that she wasn't going to give up easily.

The plastic dial stopped.

"Right hand green!" he said strangled.

Scully groaned, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope." Mulder grunted as he readjusted himself. He didn't know what had possessed them to play "Twister", and he was pretty grateful as Scully lost her footing over him, sending both herself and him down to the floor belly-first.

She groaned even louder this time. The way she landed against Mulder's back knocked the wind out of her a bit before she started laughing like a maniac. Scully had a hard time not acting like she was either high or drunk around Mulder when they had time to themselves. When other people were around, it made the impulse to act ridiculous less tempting.

"Well, I'm glad you found that entertaining." He stated bitterly as he bucked her off his back in a less-than-gentlemanly manner. It didn't stop the high she was on, though. The tears in the corners of her eyes began to trek down her cheeks as she pulled herself up into a sitting position and tried to regain some composure.

Mulder knelt down in front of her and brushed the tears away lightly with his thumbs. She drew in a couple of shaky breaths and buried herself into his chest. "Are you going to live?" he asked.

She nodded innocently, back to her peaceful self, but her eyes were still dancing with the light from her laughter. Scully couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed that hard over anything, let alone something as stupid as "Twister".

He squeezed her shoulders slightly and rubbed her back roughly before he took a seat next to her at the foot of his bed. The basement possessed an eerie quality about it already, let alone the fact that it was eight-thirty and it was already pitch-black outside. The only light that illuminated the room was the multi-colored light that came from the lava lamps lined up on the other side of the room.

Mulder looked over to Scully, who merely stared at her feet. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

She looked up at him, went down to his knees, then back up to his eyes. "You know what's weird? I'm not thinking about anything?"

"No?" he laughed at her surprised tone.

"No. It's a wonderful feeling." she rubbed her eyes and felt a pang behind them; the first warning sign of an oncoming headache. "Great, the last thing I want right now." she muttered.

"What's that?"

"Headache." she stated.

He leaned into her personal space. "Bad one?"

"I can't tell right now. Have to wait till it manifests." Scully stated. She normally didn't get headaches the way most people did. When most people had a dull throb in the back of their head, Scully felt like her head was trapped in an Iron Maiden. She went to the doctor once for it and was told that she was prone to migraines. It was a true gift from Heaven when her entire family would be over on some weekend and she never had a moment's peace, but even in silence it was a burden.

"Manifests? Big word." he stated.

"Aww…am I confusing you?" she teased.

"I think I'll manage." he nudged her shoulder with his own.

They sat in a companionable silence for just a few minutes when both of them heard the loud, creaky swinging of the front door opening. Heavy footsteps followed, along with a loud thud.

Mulder's eyes went wide. "Uh-oh."

"What?" Scully asked, her senses suddenly going on high-alert.

"C'mere." Mulder pulled her into the closet and sat her down in the corner. "Whatever you do, do not open this door and try to not make a sound."

"Wh-Mulder?" her attempt at reasoning with him was lost. He shut the door and turned the lock, effectively caging her in the dark closet.

Scully's first instinct was to bang on the door, curse him and tell him to open it. She heard footfalls going up the stairs now, however, and realized that it would only be fall on deaf ears. In all honesty, she was scared. She didn't know what was happening, for once in her life, and she didn't like the unknown feeling in her mind.

The feeling that followed it was worse. As she sunk down to the floor, she heard two men yelling at one another, one she recognized even muffled as Mulder. The other was foggy to her memory, but she deduced it was his father. The yelling went on for some time before Scully heard the first glass shatter as it was thrown. There was another sometime later after some silence, and another. Scully felt out the area around her and found a folded up blanket, which she quickly unraveled and covered herself with. It was an old trick she'd come up with when her parent fought when she was little. The claustrophobic sense the blanket gave by being the only thing she could see was comforting to her. It made her feel safe and warm.

Her old trick failed her this time, however. She heard multiple loud thuds and a few screamed curse words. Once again, the silence pervaded. Scully felt a lone tear fall from the corner of her eye. She had a pretty clear picture in her head of what was happening now.

Heavy slow steps, one at a time, were the only sound left in the world. When they'd finally reached the basement floor, there wasn't a sound in the world anymore. There was an ungodly ringing in her ears that wouldn't cease, intensifying Scully's already unwavering headache.

The door opened, which had Scully upright and reeling from the rush. Mulder's silhouette was the only thing she could make out. He seemed to watch her for a minute, then wordlessly turned and sat down on his bed, leaving her in the closet.

Scully crawled out after him and saw the marks now. Blood dripped down from both his nose and the corner of his mouth where he'd probably bitten his cheek or tongue, along with a big oval-shaped red mark around his left eye.

Mulder breathed in deeply, let it out slowly, but his shoulders still shook. Scully knelt in front of him, but she was afraid to touch him. Not knowing where he was hurting she'd rather spare him some pain than be the cause of it.

"I'm sorry you have to be a witness to this." he shuddered from the sudden chill in the room. She'd felt it too. Scully opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't know what to say.

She got up and pulled him with her into the bathroom where she sat him down and dabbed at his injuries with washcloth. Scully forced herself to choke down the tears that kept welling up. Her crying wasn't going to help the situation in the least. Mulder was no doubt hurt emotionally from the altercation as well as physically. He needed her to be strong for the both of them.

"He's passed out on the couch. We won't have to worry about him waking up anytime soon. All I can smell up there is whiskey and that shit puts him straight out." he kept talking, trying to avert his mind anywhere other than the reality of what had happened. It's not like it hadn't ever happened before, but it was the first time with an audience present.

Scully ran her fingers through his hair gently, watching his left eye. "You should probably get some ice on that." she stated.

Mulder checked it himself in the mirror and shook his head. "When they're black right away is when they're bad. This one'll be gone by morning."

She breathed a shaky sigh, beside herself. Scully wanted so badly to say something, anything, that would make it sound like she understood what had happened. The only problem was that she didn't. It was surreal to her to think that only twenty minutes ago they were laughing without a care in the world. But, then again, darkness could come as quickly as flicking a light switch.

He tried to smile at her, and it made her feel worse. He was trying to put up a brave front when she had no idea what was going on inside that beautiful mind she'd come to love.

"Please tell me what you're thinking." It wasn't so much a question as it was a request.

He hung his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

She couldn't see any other option but to let it go for now. The information wouldn't just come out of him if she badgered him, nor would it do any good. Scully had learned in her psychology class that abuse victims either denied everything or bottled it up. She could let him bottle it up for now, he probably wouldn't leave it like that for long.

His head grew heavy on her shoulder where it had been resting. "Tired?" she asked lightly.

Mulder nodded simply and walked out of the bathroom without saying a word.

Scully followed him out to see that he'd stripped out of his shirt and was working on escaping his jeans. Her eyes grew wider at the extent of the damage. Purple and black blotches that weren't there the last time she caught him without a shirt not so long ago. All of them dotted his torso and arms, but there were a couple around his shins.

He didn't face her, and stood there silently in his boxers for a long moment before he said. "He never used to leave marks. He doesn't even care about that anymore."

Scully's throat closed over completely, but she kept the tears inside. Some small part of her that was trying to think positively applauded her for keeping them back this long.

"I get it if you can't stomach this, I couldn't for a long time either." Mulder finally turned and met her eyes for the first time since he'd returned to the basement. "Could I ask a favor?"

'_Anything and everything. I'm all yours and yours alone.' _"Of course you can." she ended up saying.

"Could you…" Mulder couldn't figure out how to ask her to sleep with him and not make it sound dirty. He tried again. "Would you just…"

Scully's cell phone interrupted him. "I'm sorry." she whispered before she reached for the horrid little device. She knew exactly who it was too. "Hi mom." Silence. "No, we're fine." Mulder waved at Scully with a small smile. "Mulder says hi. Listen, I might be a little later than I told you…Well, Mulder and his mom are moving around furniture and I was just gonna help them for a little bit…Yes, I'll be home by curfew…No, I will not get into 'mischief'." Scully rolled her eyes, which made Mulder laugh, which helped warm her heart a little. "I love you, too, Mom. I'll see you later."

He watched her for a long second before he asked. "So it wouldn't be too much to ask for a teddy bear until I fall asleep?"

She had to restrain herself from charging him in a hug. What the hell had happened to him? "You know it's not."

Mulder smiled just a touch as his girlfriend tucked him into bed and walked around to the other side to climb in on top of the covers. She gingerly laid her head down on the pillow next to his. He reached out instinctively to bring her closer. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other underneath her neck. Their noses brushed against each other as they settled and Mulder's eyes closed.

Scully closed hers as well, but she knew she wasn't going to sleep tonight.

_**(X)**_

The next day was bright and beautiful, perfect wedding weather. The only clouds in the sky were Sirius clouds that were up so high and so wispy it was impossible for them to cast shadow or rain upon the citizens of Maryland. The air was a nice 72 degrees Fahrenheit and the only wind that blew was a light wispy one.

The church where today's nuptials were going to take place was the usual Catholic church where all of the Scully children had, no doubt, been baptized and gone every Sunday since the beginning of their lives. It was a small church, but seemed to be able to hold the two-hundred or so guests that were there that day. The building itself had been beautifully decorated in the lightest shades of pinks and greens imaginable as well as the traditional white.

The ceremony had been beautiful, what any young girl in her right mind would dream about. Mulder had tried to keep his eyes on the bride and groom, but he couldn't help the fact that his eyes kept drifting over to Scully on Tara's left. She'd been roped into being a bridesmaid by her older siblings and her mother, despite the fact she really didn't want to. He was secretly glad they'd gotten her to. The bridesmaids dresses were a more prominent bubblegum pink that tried to fit in with the lighter colors, but didn't. The fabric was a satin-y type that had a three-quarters length skirt with a slit in the side up to about mid-thigh. It certainly wasn't what was considered a typical bridesmaid's dress and he could tell she didn't feel comfortable in it, but she looked hotter than hell in it.

The venue for the reception was about two blocks away. Mulder had tried to find her before she got lost in the masses of people that were all carpooling there or walking, but he wasn't fast enough. He hopped in his car and drove. He really wanted to see her.

Mulder took in his surroundings, feeling a little more than slightly out of place. Everyone around him was mingling in their seats whereas he just kept looking around like a puppy in a new house. Charlie sat next to him, which eased his mind a bit. They'd been playing word games since they'd taken their seats at the front long before everyone else had. People had been trickling in for the last twenty minutes or so, but now every seat was occupied at the correct table and he hoped things would pick up soon.

This morning had been the worst in a while. He'd woken around nine with a warm pillow in his arms with a note taped to it. He had rubbed his eyes enough to get them functioning and quickly read it.

_10:31 p.m. _

_Didn't have the heart to wake you to tell you I was leaving. Won't get to talk to you till the reception tomorrow. I'm sorry, but I think we need to talk about what happened here tonight. _

_Love you,_

_~S. _

There wasn't much he could do but to pull his act together and get to the ceremony in a timely fashion. The wedding was scheduled to start at one o'clock, which gave him plenty of time. He'd taken care to his father, setting a bucket beside him and a bottle of ibuprofen. Mulder hadn't had time to worry about where his mother was, but was happy when she came home and said she'd fallen asleep on her friend's couch late last night.

His father had came to sometime in the midst of his preparation to leave, muttering a thousand apologies that his son had been subjected to numerous times before. He'd done the usual nod and half-hearted hug that was customary for them after one of these 'episodes', as Teena Mulder called them.

He looked over towards the long tables on the one wall of the room where the bridal party was to sit and saw her. She was tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear and watching him. She looked down underneath the table for a long minute, then back up towards him. Mulder felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out to see he had one new text message from Scully.

"_I missed u so much 2day."_

Mulder looked up and smiled at her. She was grinning like a moron from the other side of the room, but he saw it as a good thing. He hit 'reply' and wrote back.

"_I couldn't stop staring at u thru the whole ceremony."_

She picked up her phone and smiled even wider.

"_I noticed. U looked like u were daydreaming."_

"_I was. Off and on." _

"'_Bout?" _

"_How amazingly gorgeous you look." _

He watched her bite her bottom lip and meet his eyes separated so far. Just then the DJ announced the newlywed Mr. and Mrs. William Scully. The two went to the dance floor and immediately started their first dance. "Unchained Melody" was the song they'd chosen. Mulder couldn't help the thought of how unoriginal it was, but quickly shoo-ed it away. His phone vibrated again.

"_What do you think our song would be?" _

Mulder looked over to Scully, who appeared to be watching her brother and new sister, but was really looking over at him with thoughtful eyes. He cocked his head to the side in thought for a moment before replying.

"_You go first."_

She looked down with a tight smile.

"_I was thinking like 'Far Away'." _

"_Yes, and you are also a Nickelback fan."_

"_Well, you pick, smarty."_

He met her eyes across the dimmed room, then looked back at his phone.

"'_She Will Be Loved'." _

Scully watched her phone like it had sprouted wings. The song ended as the newlyweds took their seats and others got up to dance now.

Mulder got up like a shot had gone off and made his way across the room to Scully. He stopped directly in front of her with a huge grin on his face. "May I have this dance, Mam'selle?"

"You certainly may." She took his hand and followed him to the dance floor.

They didn't hold a proper position long. Her arms were laced around his neck in no time, as were his around her waist. The black pumps she was wearing gave her an extra two or three inches, putting her eyes level with his chin.

"You honestly couldn't have missed me that much today." he stated once they'd settled into an easy rhythm with the music.

She pressed her forehead against his. "Yeah, I did. I started missing you last night right after I left. All I really wanted was to kick off my shoes and just stay there the rest of the night." she admitted as she rubbed her nose against his.

"I wish you had. I would've had a much more pleasant morning waking up to you than to my snoring father." Mulder was going for levity, but it didn't work.

"What happened last night, Mulder? I haven't stopped thinking about it all night." she told him honestly.

He held her eyes, finally seeing the fatigue in them. She wasn't lying about the 'all' in that statement. "I didn't want you to not sleep over it. It just happens every once in awhile when he has a hard time at work usually. He hasn't done it for almost a year. I honestly didn't expect it."

She bit her lip again. "Do you…fight back?"

"No, I don't see the point in it. He just uses me until he passes out and everything's fine in the morning. He apologizes and we hug and that's the end of it." he shrugs.

"Mulder, that's sadistic." They were whispering so quietly no one else could hear them over the music and the light conversation about the room. "There's got to be someone who you can talk to-"

"No." he said rather firmly. "You're the only one I've ever told."

"Because you had to explain it. If I hadn't been there and it happened, would you have told me about it?" she asked seriously.

"I would've told you eventually." he stated. Scully scoffed and rolled her eyes, but he kept going, "Listen to me, there is no one else on this Earth that I trust more than you. I considered telling you, but it never seemed like the right time or I made myself for a freak show already and decided to keep that little bit to myself. I didn't need another tally up in the 'reasons I should dump this loser' column." he whispered harshly.

She searched his eyes. "Are you honestly still this insecure with me?"

He brought his forehead back to hers, a bit of moisture beginning to ebb his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too. But do you still think I'm going to leave you?" she asked.

Mulder didn't respond.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly Moby Dick on the 'greatest catch' scale. I'm an anti-social, awkward, brainiac, emotional mess." she stated.

"You're perfect." he countered.

"For you." she pulled him closer. "It's like one piece of a puzzle interlinking with another. There isn't going to be another perfect fit anywhere else no matter how hard you try to. Now I'm not going anywhere as long as you're not. You're much too good of a kisser." she stated.

Mulder finally laughed, a wide grin on his face. "I'd prove that right now if there weren't so many of your relatives around."

She smiled as well. "Later" Scully promised. "For right now, I just want to be near you."

"The feeling's mutual." he reassured.

The night would be filled with dancing, laughter, and heart-felt wishes of happiness. But for Mulder and Scully, the simplest of looks would be enough to burst their hearts with happiness.

* * *

**_As always, I'm sorry if it sucks, but if you believe it is good, I always love to hear from you. No clue what next chapter's gonna bring yet. Probably whatever falls from the sky and into my head. XD_**

**_P.S. Please review! 3_**


	21. We Are Who We Are

_**So I'm not really sure where the inspiration for this chapter came from and it's kinda out of the blue, but some time has past since the wedding. And I don't know why I have TWO separate guys hitting on Scully, but hey, I roll with whatever comes out and I hope you guys can too. Happy reading. xD**_

_**P.S. The inspiration for this chapter title (yes, I know where this came from) is that I was listening to Ke$ha's "We R Who We R" and I thought it was pretty fitting for the little male conversation at the end. Let me know if it works.**_

_**Chapter Twenty-One:**_

A couple of weeks had gone by since the wedding. Tara had her child, a healthy baby girl whom she named Emily, not long after. Life was going on as it had before in a quote unquote 'normal' way…everyone's except Scully's.

Mulder's parents thought it'd be wonderful for him to visit his cousins. Mulder, who dreaded his entire extended family, confided in her that they were just about the wildest people one could ever hope to meet. The three of them, two guys and a girl, all lived in the same dilapidated apartment in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. After he told her that, he regretted it immediately, but there wasn't much he didn't tell her anymore.

It made the goodbye at the airport even more awkward. Hug after kiss, kiss after hug, Scully simply wouldn't let him go. Her grip loosened when he told her he'd call her every morning and night, then completely fell away as she melted under one of his especially intense smooches. It hit below the belt, but it had worked.

He'd been gone more than a week now, and had kept his promise. They talked for nearly an hour every morning and close to two every night. Her parents would no doubt make her pay the phone bill that month, but it was a small price to pay to hear his voice.

It was a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon in Scully's own city, and Monica had talked her into going to the beach. She'd been inseparable from the phone for said week now and her friend had reminded her that she had a relationship with a man and not a telephone. Seeing her point, she'd agreed to go for a couple of hours and work on her non-existent tan.

Scully was stretched out on her beach towel on her stomach. She knew she should keep still, but she wasn't one to just lay out in the dirt. Her book wasn't holding her interest and neither was people watching; a guilty pleasure of hers. John had met up with them, therefore Monica had followed him out to the water where they were fighting with squirt guns like a couple of five-year-olds. She'd rolled her eyes and pretended she didn't know them.

Watching the reeds in front of her where sand met grass, she couldn't help but be drawn back to her thoughts of Mulder. She wondered what he was doing more than two hundred miles away. She sighed at the thought of the distance between them. The time and space were tugging on her heartstrings like an someone playing an worn-out guitar.

'_Just two more days, Dana. Two more days. Can you manage that?' _her brain told herself firmly. Her heart would reply with a _'Hardly…'_

She felt something hit her legs and stumble over her, followed by a male grunt. Scully sat up quickly, surprised by this new distraction. A man considerably older than she rolled over to sit on the sand, a football in his lap. His gaze was fixed on her immediately.

"God, I'm so sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you with my fat ass." he stated on a laugh.

Scully chuckled and thought that none of him was certainly fat. Well-built, but not fat. "No, that's okay. I'm fine."

"Sorry again. I'm Jack, by the way." he held out his hand to her.

"Nice to meet you, Jack." Scully shook it politely and suddenly felt very exposed with the way he was eyeing her. Her 'bathing suit' consisted of a simple black bikini top and a pair of light blue short-shorts. She would've came in with more clothes on if she thought she was going to be eyed like a piece of meat.

"I'm sorry for staring, you're just…" he paused, a very bad dramatic one, "…you're just so beautiful."

Scully pulled back self-consciously. "I have a boyfriend." she whispered.

Jack hummed in thought. "That wasn't very convincing."

She was annoyed now, "Well, I do."

"I don't believe you." he muttered back and leaned in closer.

John Doggett to the rescue, as it appeared, he came running up to get himself a towel. "Hey, getting kinda close in there buddy?" he asked a little less seriously than Scully would've preferred at this point, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

Jack looked up at him and then back to her, "Is this your boyfriend?" he asked incredulously.

"No, he isn't." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling very nervous now. "He's out of town. He's in New York with relatives."

He reached out to touch her hand. "He doesn't have to know." Jack offered deviously.

Scully didn't speak another word. She merely pulled her towel out from underneath him, smacked him over the head with her bag, and trudged back to her car. The thought passed through her mind that he was probably enjoying the show, but she didn't care about that right now.

Monica came running up alongside her, oblivious to what had just happened. "Dana? Danes? What's the matter? Why are you leaving?"

"Nothing, and because I can." she said gruffly, her voice a little clogged as she continued to her car.

_**(X)**_

Hundreds of miles away from the place he now called home, Mulder worked his way through fierce sets of bench presses, pull-ups, and timed runs. He loved this gym. It was the one thing he considered missing when he left New York. With it's bad placement and unnecessarily safe ways of running a business (in the heart of 'The Kitchen'), not many people found it beneficiary to frequent it.

Of which was completely fine with him.

He didn't like to work-out with a big crowd surrounding him. People more often than not anymore found a gym as a place to flirt and date-hunt. Seeing as he wasn't in need of either of those, he picked the most closed-off one he could find and went to it every day while the three stooges went to work.

His arms locked on the final press and he placed the bar back into the catch. He stared at the grimy ceiling for a minute, trying to catch his breath, before he managed to sit up. He'd been at this for almost three hours now. He'd done everything he could think to do for at least twenty minutes apiece. His muscles groaned in protest and ultimately give out if he went much further with it. He knew the best thing for him would be a hot shower and then to drag himself back to the apartment only about two blocks away.

Walking back into the locker room, Mulder took his soap and towel from his bag and turned the water on full blast. Once the water started cascading over him and his mind was without no other focus, his thoughts drifted to Scully. He wondered what she was doing, what she was thinking about.

He mentally slapped himself as he lathered up in suds. It was for this reason that he'd been in this gym every day for the past week. Mulder couldn't stand the thought of sitting in that quiet apartment and thinking of her. He wanted to call her every single moment, which his family wasn't thrilled about the long-distance charges, but he could've cared less. It was so easy to pick up the receiver and dial that familiar number and be able to hear her voice. The workout would get him away from the phone and temporarily make him forget about how badly he wanted to hold her in his arms again.

Mulder turned the shower over to cold for various reasons. The one in the foreground of his mind was to get himself to stop sweating, but it also cooled the rising heat in his body even just from the thought of her. He was beginning to consider an earlier flight out of dodge just to get back home to her.

He stepped back into the changing area in his boxer shorts to find Ben sitting on the bench next to Mulder's locker. Ben was an older guy who was the janitor at the gym and the two had befriended in the way one generation admires another. Ben reminded him of Morgan Freeman a little with his dark African-American complexion and deep tenor voice.

"What happens when a perfectly healthy young male exhausts himself into a coma?" Ben folded his arms and leaned back like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Nothing because he's in the coma." Mulder replied with a half-smile and he played with the lock in order to open it.

"You're so young, Mulder. You shouldn't be hangin' in this pit. Ain't you got a girl?" Ben asked as nicely as he could muster.

Mulder smiled fully now, "Yeah, I got a girl." his face fell after that comment. "She's back in Maryland."

"What she look like?" Ben looked up at him with interest now.

He looked down at his elder and smiled. Ben was between fifty and sixty with his own wife and grown children. From the sound of it, he didn't talk to very many people and found even littler curiosity in other's business. Mulder decided to take his inquiries as a compliment.

He dug into his bag and fished out the thin silver picture frame he took with him almost everywhere and handed it to Ben. The older man looked at it and whistled softly. The picture itself wasn't entirely special. In it, Scully sat against a blank cream colored wall in her living room in a rather low cut black top with one of his hoodies over top and light blue cut-offs that made Mulder's heart skip a guilty beat.

"She's cute. Not like those other girls you see nowadays where everyone's blonde and silicone enhanced." the older man commented with a smile.

"Yeah…" he trailed off in thought as he took his picture back, taking a minute to stare at it himself. "…she means the world to me."

Ben looked up at him, his smile turning into a sly grin. "Why, Mr. Mulder, I believe you're smitten."

Mulder chuckled. "I have been for months now. I love her so much…and I don't know why she loves me back, but she does."

The two sat in silence for a moment as Mulder finished dressing before Ben chimed in with another question.

"Pardon my asking, but why are you in this hole in the wall when you should probably be at home with her?" he asked seriously.

And Mulder responded as such, "Because my parents thought it would be good for me to come up here and see my stoner cousins who I hate anyways. I don't know what came into their heads that made them think this, but they did." He shook his head as he pulled his shirt down the rest of the way.

Ben looked up at him thoughtfully. He really was a wise old man with one main character flaw: he was a hopeless romantic. "Well, I don't know about you, sonny. But if I was you and I had that under my arm, I'd never let her go lonely."

Mulder searched his eyes for a hard minute, then replied with, "I don't intend to."

He then shouldered his bag and tossed a final farewell over his shoulder, which made Ben smile inside and out.

_**(X)**_

Out of all the nights that it was possible for her parents to throw a barbeque, they had to do it tonight. The one night Scully wanted to herself to be antisocial and emo, they had to invite the entire block to their backyard old-country style and serve up cheeseburgers and hot dogs.

She sighed as she traced her eyelashes with mascara. She wanted to play up the emo card tonight. Maggie would probably be angry with her, but she couldn't help it anymore. It felt like there was a piece of herself missing without him right there hovering over her shoulder as she got ready. She'd become so accustomed to his little quips and comments that it felt weird not to hear them.

She put on her favorite new shirt, it was yellow with a guy in an apple suit on the front of it, and the only hoodie of his she'd managed to sneak before he left. It was the red Green Day one though, so at least it matched the guy in the apple suit. Her faded blue jeans stayed the same as they were this morning as well as her bare feet with black toe-nail polish. For make-up, Scully had gone with a light pink eye shadow with mascara as well as a touch of lip stain.

Scully headed for the stairs after one last quick run of her fingers through her hair. At this point, she didn't really care about what people thought of her. She honestly just wanted to be left alone, but apparently that was out of the question for this evening.

The evening was loud. Nearly forty people into the backyard was a damn-near impossible task to begin with, let alone be comfortable, but somehow her father had managed it. There were blankets scattered around like several picnics were taking place and everyone seemed to huddle around one another. It reminded Scully of lunch at school. The popular people sat together. The girls all sat together. The men all sat together.

She went to her tree and sat down by herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Arnold Faulke walking her way, which made her groan. Ever since they were kids, Arnold had the biggest crush on her in history. He was a couple grades lower than her, but that didn't stop him from stalking her the way he always had before.

She didn't mind Arnold, honestly. At one point in time, they'd been really good friends. But the second Scully started to change and got her curves, he'd followed her around like a puppy dog ever since. He was the definition of a nerdy/goofy-looking guy. He had the taped glasses, the pocket protector, the old-school acne and slight B.O. Scully didn't care for a long time, he was the best friend she'd had for awhile, until he got perverted.

That she had a harder time handling.

He sat down next to her and handed her a plate loaded with two hot dogs and Doritos. "If I remember right, ketchup and relish are your favorite condiments?" he asked. His voice was nasally and, to Scully, felt like fingernails scratching the chalkboard of the brain. It was the one thing she never liked him for.

She nodded her head.

"You freak." he taunted.

Scully didn't respond, but just shoveled what she could in. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she was through the first hot dog.

"Sooo…Dana…" Arnold droned on, stretching his arms over his head and trying to land one around Scully's shoulders. A move that she evaded easily. "I hear you have a boyfriend?"

Scully confirmed it with a "Mm-hmm." and a slight head nod.

He looked a little crestfallen after that, but he went on. "What's he like?"

She swallowed. "He's big…tall, you know. About six feet. He's well-built, too. Doesn't play sports but keeps himself in shape. And he has these amazing hazel eyes that…just…make me happy whenever I look into them." Scully ended on a smile.

"Could I take him?" he asked hopefully.

She couldn't help the chuckle that rose up after that. "No, Arnold, I don't think you could take him."

He recoiled, offended. "Why? Is it because I'm so thin? You know, I have been working out."

Scully did a quick once-over on him. He was only a hundred and twenty pounds max and about five foot ten himself. She looked down at her paper plate again. "No, it's not that."

"Then why couldn't I take him?" he asked, his voice very whiney.

She drew her bottom lip in and bit down on it. Scully had a deeper understanding of Mulder, he made her believe, than anyone. Mulder, in all honesty, just wanted peace. He didn't go looking for a fight and didn't like it if one was presented to him. He could defend himself easily when it was necessary, but didn't get a rush from throwing a punch. He didn't start fights, but more often than not was the one that ended them. He never fought for his own honor. However, if someone had hurt someone close to him, he was ready and waiting with rage in his eyes. He pulled it out when there was no other way out.

He also once told her that he felt like she was the only one who was close to his heart, which made her think he would only get himself into a uncomfortable altercation for her.

Knowing that Arnold was waiting for an answer, she merely stated, "You wouldn't understand."

The wheels in Arnold's head began to turn as he stared into her face. Her evasiveness, anxiety, and the long-lost look in her eyes made him immediately jump to the wrong conclusion. "Dana, do…does he hit you?"

Scully's eyes went wide in horror, "No! No, he would never hurt me." she shook her head. "He loves me."

He watched her again, analyzing her like the science geek he was. "You're not very convincing."

She clenched her teeth, anger settling in her stomach now. "I'm telling the truth and you should stay out of my business. You're just trying to find fault with someone you don't even know."

Arnold mumbled something that didn't quite reach her ears. "What was that?"

"I know a monster when I hear about one." he stated clearly.

She didn't hold back anymore. Scully back-handed him clear across the face, hard. She would've hit him with an open-palm, but a back-hand made less noise and delivered less pain. She didn't really want to hurt him, but wished he would just shut up.

All she wanted was to be left alone today.

He was still looking at her with shock in his eyes when she got up and headed back towards the house. She honestly wanted a long run to take out her frustration, but her mother would never let her go for a workout with company around. She could feel Arnold's eyes on her, though no one else's. They didn't see the conversation. They were all too wrapped up in their own to notice.

Once she was back in the empty house, she heard the doorbell ringing like mad. Figuring it was yet another neighbor arriving fashionably late, she went to the door to answer it. She hung her head to hide the sadness in her eyes. Opening it, she didn't look up.

A familiar voice stated quietly, "What's with the long face, babe? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Scully's head shot up, her eyes locking with those hazel green ones, a slow smile spreading over her face. He couldn't have looked any more emo if he tried in his trick pants and "Slipknot" t-shirt, but it didn't matter to her. She still saw him as the big, cuddly teddy bear her was.

Both of them raced to close the last few inches separating them and attempted to squeeze the life out of the other. He finally resigned and picked her up so he wouldn't be so bent over, which she didn't mind. It allowed her to get even closer by wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I thought you weren't going to be back for a couple more days." she mumbled into his neck.

Mulder grinned. "I can go back if you prefer."

She answered by slamming the door shut behind him with her foot.

"Or not." he chuckled. Mulder set her down on the stairs and kneeled in front of her. "Hi."

Scully's eyes narrowed playfully. "'Hi' me the right way." she said huskily and pulled him in for a kiss.

He responded without objection and waited patiently for permission into her mouth. He didn't have to wait long. Lips, teeth, and tongues warred in a pointless battle for dominance. A fight that wasn't worth winning just to be able to do it all over again.

Scully knew that Arnold was in the room somewhere. There was that obvious feeling in the room that they weren't completely alone. She couldn't bring herself to care, though. If he was watching, he might as well. He might even learn a thing or two.

And he was. From the couch in the living room he'd snuck into, he watched the little show that was playing out before him, hidden as best he could manage from them. Arnold had already assessed Mulder and couldn't imagine what Scully saw in him. He was dark and gothic looking while at the same time sporting a bit of jockish-ness by his well-toned body. And from the look of things, there was a pretty good probability that the black and red arm socks he sported were hiding something.

They finally broke apart for air after a solid minute. "I missed you so much." Scully whispered honestly as she tried to get her breath back.

"I know, I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to feel this again. They say time in New York goes by so much faster than the rest of the world, but I think I want to contradict that statement." Mulder held his hand out to her to help her sit up straight before he sat down next to her and welcomed her nuzzling.

"Seriously Mulder, I thought you weren't going to be back for awhile yet." she wrapped her arms around him, holding on as tightly as she could.

He wove his hand into her hair and gently nudged her head up to meet her eyes. "Someone made me realize that some things are more important than others."

She stuck her bottom lip out a bit adorably. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart." Mulder nuzzled his nose to her hair lovingly.

Arnold stepped out to announce himself. When neither of them took notice, he cleared his throat.

Scully looked at him warily while Mulder seemed to possess some interest. "Hello." he drew out the two syllables.

He cleared his throat again awkwardly. "Um…hi." Arnold returned.

She looked up a bit and gestured abstractly with her hand. "Fox Mulder, Arnold Faulke, vise versa."

Mulder looked from the top of her head to look at him politely. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Arnold stated and pushed his glasses further up his nose. He cleared his throat again. "So…erm…you're a quote unquote 'emo', correct?"

Scully shot him an icy glare. While Mulder wasn't too reserved, some things like that were better left unspoken. Even if they were, it would hardly be conversation with someone he just met. "I don't like to put words to it like that." he stated. "Emo is a label and labels are for soup cans, you know?"

She was happy with his answer, but Arnold pressed on. "Well, say you did put labels on them. How about goth?"

"'Goth' in all essence means an uncivilized person or a barbarian. No, I don't consider myself either of those." Mulder said evasively.

"You know what I mean." He turned to look at Scully. "You don't think I can take _him_?"

Mulder looked down to his girlfriend, who was looking less and less happy by the second. Scully's body had been tensing and relaxing off and on through the entire conversation. He hugged her closer, "Am I fighting him?"

She stood up, "No! No one's fighting anybody! God, would you just leave me the hell alone?" she ran up the stairs and didn't look back, but knew instinctively that Mulder was following her every step of the way.

Charging into her bedroom, she didn't start mumbling until he'd shut the door behind them. "Ever since I hit puberty and got curves, that robot excuse of a human being has wanted me to be his 'first'. I don't even think he wants love. Typical teenage boy looking for sex." she ran her fingers through her hair and flopped backwards on her bed. "Then he has the audacity to think that you hit me, why I don't know, but he's dead certain that you do now because I was trying to imply that you have a heart."

Mulder pulled her hands away from her face, met her eyes evenly. "I don't want to think about him right now. I've got second-base thoughts in my head." he smiled as he nuzzled her neck.

She rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face now. Scully sighed, "Typical man, wanting to get places with his girlfriend."

"I don't know about you, but I don't want to go anywhere else other than right here." he effectively shut her up and eased her heart with a warm solid kiss.

Scully pulled away just for a moment, "I really am glad you're home. I can't go anywhere without being hit on when you're not around."

His head jerked up at attention, his eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. "We're going to have to take care of this problem. I'm just gonna have to go everywhere with you and protect you from these filthy animals people call human males."

She grinned and chuckled a bit. "Works for me," she managed to get out before he attacked her lips again.

* * *

**_Everybody knows those reviews are my lifeblood. Please hit that button and leave me your thoughts. I beg of you...XD_**


	22. Point Of No Return

_**Okay, first of all, I'm so, so, so, so, so, sorry this is taking so long, but the muse has been gone. Literally, I have no idea where it went, but it hates me right now. Not talking to me at all, which I know makes for angry readers. **_

_**So here is this really crappy quickie update. DanH2010 reminded me of where I was going to go about ten chapters ago, though, so I know where we're headed now. FYI: after this chap, prepare yourselves for the Angst-ville express and don't forget to review. Even if you think it's crap it's still makes me feel good to hear from you guys. **_

_**Chapter Twenty-Two:**_

"C'mon, guys! How long does it take to put jack A into slot B?" Mulder asked the trio.

Langly, who had long blond hair and had some growing up to do, snickered. "That's what she said!" he stated in a sing-song voice.

Short and a little on the plus-size, Frohike smacked him upside the head. "It's no wonder you don't have a girlfriend." he said as the two went back to setting up their equipment.

"Speaking of which," Byers, a nerdy fellow who had taken the beanbag chair next to Mulder's in his own garage, tried to redirect the conversation. "When are we going to get to meet your little lady, Mulder?"

He looked to his friend and thought. When he'd first met the Lone Gunmen (that's what they called themselves) he'd been reluctant to tell them at all about Scully. They were older than he was and he didn't want to put himself out there right away. Eventually he'd broken down and told them a little about her. Nothing descriptive or anything, just that he had a little sweetheart he couldn't live without. They took it as their initiative to grill him until he spilled anything, but he refused. He still refused in his reply.

"When Ringo over there gets his haircut."

Frohike stood up from behind the speakers. "So never then?"

"Oh, yeah, yuck it up." Langly retaliated.

Mulder chuckled while his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. "Yell-ow?"

He heard a shaky breath before the strained "Mulder?" came through. The sounds of a crying woman.

"Scully? What's wrong?" Mulder's heart dropped several feet into his stomach as worry settled into the space it left behind.

"I, um, I need to talk to you. Can you come over?" she replied as steadily as she could.

"Sure. Give me fifteen."

"Alright." she said and hung up.

Mulder rose to his feet and pulled open the garage door by it's handle.

"Mulder? Where you goin?" Byers asked.

"My little lady needs me. It sounds like I did something wrong." he didn't offer any other explanation and left his friends to their devices.

_**(X)**_

Scully paced her living room with her arms folded across her stomach. There wasn't anything she could do until he got there. She could hardly remember the bouncy, cheerful way she'd woken up that morning. The day just went on to be hell with sunshine, starting with the delivery of the mail.

Her brother had tossed two handwritten envelopes in her direction from the couch that morning. One was written in Mulder's familiar handwriting. The other was in a woman's, no doubt, and she didn't recognize the hand either. No return address had her opening the familiar one first.

As was expected, it was a sappy love letter from him. They'd taken up the old-fashioned way of writing letters to each other instead of emailing one another. Despite the fact they saw each other every single day, it was a way for them to express things that they really weren't comfortable saying to one another. They never knew anymore when there might be an interloper in their midst. Charlie had become Maggie's Snoopy dog and seemed to be following them wherever they went. It also provided the tangible reminder of one another's feelings. And they both treasured each one that came.

After she'd read it and made a mental note to write another as soon as she got a half hour alone, she went for the second one. Inside were two pieces of paper, one a small slip and the other a large eight and a half by eleven folded into thirds. The slip was simple.

'_Thought you'd wanna know. ~Diana.'_

"_God, what the hell does she want?"_ Scully remembered thinking. It wasn't until a paragraph or so into the large letter that it was someone desperately asking for her affections. Why she was sending this to her, she had no clue until she looked at the typed signature at the bottom.

Fox Mulder.

The thought had entered Scully's mind that the whole thing could be fake and there was no way that Mulder was at all involved in it. There wasn't anyway he could, was there? She couldn't think there was anyway he was acting differently towards her. He still smothered her in embraces and kisses every chance he got. He still made her smile and laugh with every little stupid thing he said.

Maybe he wanted more. Maybe he sought more from their relationship. Scully knew what the next step was, but she didn't know if she was ready for it. She knew she loved him and she did want him to be the one, but was it right? It felt like they'd been together forever when in reality it was only four short months ago that they'd found each other.

And what if it was fake? She could've been making a mountain out of a molehill in telling him to come over to confront him about it. But she needed to know and the thought the stupid thing could be real was killing her.

Her head and her heart both hurt now as she paced. She couldn't do anything now but wait for him. Scully had to stop and thank God for small miracles, though. There wasn't a soul in the house that could hear anything if a fight broke out.

His car pulled up in the driveway and the noose around her chest tightened a little as he sprinted for the front door eagerly. He looked rather high spirited despite his black clothing and heavy chains. Scully forced herself to take a deep breath and relax. She didn't know anything for sure yet.

Mulder kicked off his shoes in the entry way. When he caught sight of her, he smiled and greeted her with a tender kiss.

Scully kissed him back, but didn't invest herself into it like she normally did. She refused her fingers journey into his hair, her nose brushing against his. She allowed him to wrap her in a tight embrace, but she didn't return the favor, all the while her brain screaming at her to do the opposite.

He released her slightly, feeling almost as if he barged in where he wasn't invited. Mulder pressed his face into her hair softly. "What's wrong, sweets?"

Scully backed away from him and rubbed her eyes. "Do you have any secrets from me?"

He gave her an incredulous look. "Of course I don't, Scully. You're the only one I don't have secrets from ."

She walked around and sat on the couch, handing him the letter half-heartedly. "This came in the mail today."

Mulder didn't take his eyes off her as he took it from her and glanced at it quickly. He looked back to her almost as quickly as he'd looked away. "You can't honestly think that I wrote this."

She met his eyes for the first time since he'd walked in. Deep down in her heart, Scully knew that the meaningless piece of paper was just attempt by Diana to throw a wrench in things. Apparently 'out of sight out of mind' wasn't true when it came to her. "No, I don't think you wrote it."

He sighed, "There's something else here that you're thinking about."

"Nope. That was it." Scully tried to brush it off, but he wasn't letting her get away with it.

"C'mon, Scully, if this was a vehicle to ask a bigger question that's on your mind, just ask." he tried.

"It's not that easy, okay?" she freaked, tears running down her face. "It's not an easy topic to bring up." Scully was screaming, though she didn't know why. She never raised her voice, especially to Mulder. She wished she knew what was wrong with her today.

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her gingerly. "I think I know what your thinking now." Mulder spoke into her hair.

She laced her fingers through his. "It's not like I want that right away."

"Why bring it up if you don't want to talk about it though?"

Scully sighed, "Monica. She keeps putting these thoughts in my head and then John won't stop asking if we've taken that step. They think it's weird that we haven't…gotten there…yet."

Mulder turned her around so she faced him, holding her face. "Do we have to go there to prove we love each other?"

She swallowed hard. The two of them had never really talked about sex that much until this point. Scully was regretting bringing it up with each sentence. "No, I know you love me."

"And I know you love me." he stated. "But can I make a confession?"

"Of course."

"I…I don't want to scare you or anything, but I want to." he stated rather stupidly.

Scully watched him intently, then let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding on a nervous chuckle. "Really?"

He smiled a little, "Who wouldn't?"

"What about all your 'not needing to have sex to prove love' stuff?" she asked.

"There's a difference between having sex and making love." he merely stated, which Scully took for a decent answer.

"Well, what do you suggest we do about this?" she said flatly.

Mulder didn't have time to respond. A flood of Scullys came through the front door with grocery bags in their hands. The pair separated to help them out with the heavy bags, dropping their conversation for now. There wasn' any getting out of coming back to it though. The bridge had been crossed. Now all they had to do was stand and watch it burn.


	23. New York Minute

_**Ok, have to say I'm kinda excited for this new little turn. I've wanted to do this for a while now because I've had people asking if I was going to incorporate the whole cancer thing into this. This is my own little version. I hope it's good. Happy reading and happy holidays everyone! :D**_

_**Chapter Twenty-Three:**_

_"In a New York minute everything can change." -Don Henley _

Only three days had passed since that conversation, which was continued once they were alone. They made a pact to wait for the right time, but if the opportunity arose they would seize it. Neither wanted to rush into this new phase of their relationship, but they couldn't deny they were both a little more than anxious.

Scully remembered the way she was giddy with excitement. She could tell because of the looks she got at the dinner table that night and the soreness in her cheeks from smiling. There wasn't anything else she could do except to lie about it. One of the golden rules of being a teenager was to keep your family members in the dark about the things you did with a significant other.

The days following were quiet. Both she and Mulder were working long shifts at their respective jobs and really only had time to talk on the phone late at night. Everything, for once, seemed to be calm and normal.

At least it seemed so.

That Thursday, Scully woke up around two-thirty in the morning with a splitting headache. She groaned and rolled over, forcing Queequeg to move in the process. This wasn't anything new. She'd been prone to headaches for a long time now, but something about this one felt different than all the rest of them.

Attempting to pick her head up, Scully failed and let it fall back to the pillow. The pain resonated through her skull like there was a stroke of lightning trapped inside. She winced and gasped. Yes, this one was definitely different. It was worse than the others she was used to.

She picked herself up slowly in order to avoid the head-rush, but she couldn't bring herself to stay upright. She was dizzy and it made her nauseous. The heating pad usually helped, but it was all the way in the downstairs bathroom.

Scully laid back down and hugged Queequeg close. Tears welled up into her eyes for no apparent reason other than the pain in her head. She let them fall, but refused to sob. Sobbing never made anything better.

Not knowing what to do, Scully forced herself to get up and to at least attempt to go downstairs, taking the steps one at a time with her faithful dog going just as slowly as she was. Once Scully got to the bottom though, she couldn't go anymore. She sat down on the last step and leaned up against the wall. It was then she noticed how stiff her neck was.

"Mom?" she croaked out softly. It was getting worse. Now every muscle in her body seemed to tighten and relax in a disturbing rhythm.

"Mom." Scully tried again, a little stronger this time, but her voice wasn't going to carry up the long staircase she'd just managed to get down. She was tired, wanted to throw up, and cry all at the same time. She thought of something as she checked her forehead with the back of her hand. She was on fire.

Scully knew what this was. She wanted to be a doctor and all the symptoms pointed to one thing.

Not caring who she woke up anymore, she plugged both ears and screamed bloody murder until her head ached even more. Scully couldn't stay up anymore. She heard the resonating thudding of footsteps down the stairs as she fainted.

_**(X)**_

It was only around nine o'clock in the morning, yet Mulder was completely bored out of his skull. He didn't know what had possessed his parent to invite company over so early in the morning for breakfast on a Saturday. That and the fact he hadn't gotten a good morning text from Scully yet that morning was bothering him.

Their company also had to be his grandparents.

Mulder didn't favor the mother and father of his father too much and they didn't like him at all. He was way too alternative and modern for their liking. They had expected him to grow into a proper Ralph Lauren poster child on the cover of "Polo" magazine, if there were such a thing. When they saw him next, which was almost ten years later, they knew there wasn't anything they could do except bitch and moan about his appearance to him.

He could've cared less, honestly. Mulder liked the way he was now. His dark appearance kept most of the stupid people and the bimbo-girls away in this town, whereas in New York it only gotten him into trouble. He liked his band t-shirts that would never go out of style. He liked his arm socks that covered the scars on his wrists. And he especially liked the chains on his trick pants that Scully would pull on to bring him closer when they were alone.

'_Scully…'_ he thought wistfully. She had always accepted him with open arms even when she thought he was a bit creepy. She'd been attracted to his natural darkness and his emotional baggage. She loved him because of and in spite of it respectfully. Her parents had been a little thrown off, but didn't seem to be minded by it that much anymore. People who had no obligations to him whatsoever could stand to be around him.

Why couldn't his own flesh and blood do the same? "Goodness gracious, Fox, you're seventeen years old! It's time that you clean up and get yourself a decent girlfriend." his grandmother, Loraine Mulder, stated condescendingly as she shoved a forkful of eggs into her mouth.

He pushed his own around the plate unconsciously.

Teena decided it was a good time to chime in. "Actually, Fox has a girlfriend. A rather…spunky…little thing."

'_Where's the bottle of suicide pills when you needed them?'_ Mulder thought to himself.

"Oh, is that so?" Loraine asked thoughtfully. "Does her clothing look anything like this?" she gestured one-handedly at her grandson.

Teena swallowed. "Hard to tell. She walks around in Fox's zip-up sweatshirts a lot and she's just a tiny little thing so she's dwarfed in them. I don't think I've ever seen her without one on."

'_Maybe if you were around a little more, Mom, you would've gotten the chance to actually meet her.' _he thought harshly. He barely ever spoke a word whenever they got together like this and discussed him. Mulder had ended up calling them "ECAM": The Elderly Council for the Advancement of Fox Mulder. He would sit there quietly while they analyzed him, but he didn't know if he could hold his tongue if the radar came around to Scully.

Like ray of light in a dark fog, his cell phone rang out in the kitchen. He jumped up and excused himself to the telephone.

Mulder's grandpa, who he liked considerably more, pawed at one of his jackets hanging from the back of a chair in the dining room. Phillip Mulder found what he was looking for, too. In his excavation, he dug up a photograph of a petite red-haired beauty with a small smile tugging at her lips. He whistled low.

"Phil, I told you not to bring any of that trash with you." Loraine snapped at her husband sharply.

"Relax, this is your grandson's." he waved the picture around tauntingly, coming to rest it at Teena's elbow. "Would this happen to be Fox's little lady?"

Teena stared at it for a minute and nodded, "Yeah, I think so. It's bugging me I can't remember her name, though." she tried to focus. "…I think it began with a D…"

Mulder returned to the dining room even more solemn than before. His silence continued as he pulled on a pair of converse and grabbed a jacket off the rack.

"Where do you think you're going, son?" William, who'd also been silent at the opposite end of the table, asked his son sarcastically.

Mulder stopped, his back turned to everyone. He willed his voice not to crack under the weight of the words that had involuntarily forced their way into his brain. Once he felt he was strong enough, he spoke.

"Dana is her name, Mom. And at three o'clock this morning, she went into the ER with a severe headache, a fever, and nausea." Mulder whispered.

"So…what? She probably got a bug." Teena surmised.

He shook his head. "Wishful thinking." he finally turned to look at them. "It's bacterial meningitis."

Four pairs of eyes seemed to grow a little wider and a bit more interested. "You can't be serious." William stated.

"Like this is something I want to joke about." Mulder said bitterly as he headed for the front door again.

"If what you're saying is true, no doctor is gonna let you within a hundred feet of her. You might as well come back to breakfast." Teena spoke as if everything he'd just said was no big deal.

Mulder choked on his dry throat. "It doesn't matter. I…I just need to be near her."

He left without another word.

_**(X)**_

When Scully came to several hours later, she still felt like she'd gone to hell in a hand basket. She opened her eyes and quickly shut them again. Sensitivity to light. She could mark that down as a check in the new symptoms column. She heard the faint beeps and rumbles of a heart monitor beside her, but the sound seemed to echo in her ears.

She was in a hospital now, that much was apparent. The clothes she wore were no longer her own and the blanket itched at her sensitive skin. Scully felt her pulse throb in her right index finger where the white device was clamped on. She also now felt the IV in her arm as she pulled on it the wrong way and grunted as she felt the needle move in her vein.

"Are you awake?" a soft voice asked out of nowhere.

Scully lolled her head to the side and opened her eyes. Not five feet away in the bed alongside hers sat a girl facing her Indian style with her elbows on her knees. The girl was considerably younger than Scully; probably thirteen max. Her skin tone gave away Hispanic origins. She had big brown eyes like saucers, full lips, and a very narrow frame. In another life, Scully had no doubt said girl would be curvy and gorgeous and have raven-black sleek hair.

With the fact that she was bald, she had a pretty good idea what her new roommate was here for.

"Yeah," Scully said with a dry throat and smiled as it crackled.

The girl smiled too and waved a little, "I'm Kaila."

Scully tried to wave back, but her heavy arm wouldn't allow it. "Dana." she replied.

Kaila pulled her blanket further around her small frame. "You can probably guess why I'm here." she spoke with a little sadness in her voice. "Do you know why you're here?"

"No, I woke up this morning with a splitting headache and fainted on my stairs. I don't think I've been conscious for anything since." Scully tried to think what happened after she heard those footsteps, but nothing was forthcoming in her mind.

"I hope you don't mind, but I heard your doctor and your mom talking earlier. Apparently you have meningitis." Kaila replied.

"Bacterial or viral?" Scully asked.

"Bacterial. They started you on antibiotics the second they figured it out." Kaila clarified as Scully sighed in defeat.

"Wonderful." Scully murmured as she squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to make her vision stop swimming. She then looked back to Kaila. "May I ask what type of cancer you have?"

She gave Scully a half smile. "Intestinal. The tumors are mostly in my large intestine, but they're trying to see if they're going to move to my small one anytime soon."

Scully didn't know what else to say except. "That's gotta suck."

Kaila laughed at the comment and backed it up, "Yes, actually, it does suck a bit."

Scully smiled a little at the fact she made her new friend smile. They stared each other down for a long moment before Maggie rushed in with a nurse and a doctor she recognized as Dr. Smith, the same man who'd handled her father's heart attack.

"Dana." her mom rushed to her and hugged her as if to squeeze the life straight out of her.

"Hi, Mom." Scully grunted, a little uncomfortable with how closely she was being held.

Maggie wiped at her tears with the sleeve of her shirt after she'd released her daughter. "You're gonna be okay. Dr. Smith's going to be watching over you."

"How are you feeling, Dana?" Dr. Smith asked as he looked over the clipboard at the foot of the bed.

Scully sighed, "Tired…and my head's just throbbing."

He smiled sympathetically in her direction. "I think I can find something to help with that."

"Thanks." she smiled back a bit, then turned her head to her mother, "Does Mulder know?" Scully asked.

Maggie nodded, "I figured you would want me to call him."

"Can I see him?" she asked even more pitifully.

"Not a very good idea, Dana." Smith chimed in as he scribbled something down on her chart. "Since you have a bacterial disease, it would be best if we limited your visitors to only family members until you're less contagious. You should know that with this particular illness, there are quite a few bizarre symptoms that come with it."

She rubbed her eyes. "Like?"

"Nausea and sensitivity to light, which I can tell you're feeling right now. Others include stiff neck, fever, vomiting and headache. Sometimes patients suffer from rashes and delusions as well." Smith stated clinically.

"Delusions?" she asked.

"Rarely, but sometimes."

Scully's heart fell a little inside her chest. "How long will this last?"

"Depends on when you get better. Could be a week. Maybe two or three. Depends on how your body adapts to the antibiotics that we're giving you to fight this off with." Smith walked over and rubbed Kaila's bald head, which she didn't seem to welcome much. "How are you doing, Kai?"

"Kai?" Scully asked.

"That's my nickname, and I'm doin' okay. No cramps and no projectile vomiting makes a good day for me, though." she reminded him.

His smile tightened in thought. "Hang in there, kiddo." He looked back to Scully, "The best thing for the both of you to do is get some rest for right now."

Maggie concurred, kissed her daughter's forehead, and turned to leave the two girls alone in their room to the silence and still somewhat darkness of morning. Scully turned on her side, but she had one question.

"Would you rather me call you Kaila or Kai?" she asked the lump in the next bed.

"Whichever you want to. There isn't much in a name to me." she responded. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Scully replied even though her thoughts were already drifting to Mulder.

"Whose Mulder?" the small voice asked.

Scully swallowed the lump in her throat. "He's my boyfriend…my best friend."

"I always wondered what that would be like," she stated. "…having a boyfriend whose your best friend. What's it like?"

Not knowing what to say, Scully thought for a long minute before she responded. Her head hurt too much to talk for too long "He's my best friend. I think I love him more because of it." she finally said.

"Sounds heavenly." she said.

"I have one last question for you, actually." Scully said.

"Sure, what?"

"Do you know why they put me in a room with you if I'm really contagious? I mean, that can't be beneficial to you."

Kai pulled the covers up to her chin, a small sarcastic smile on her face. "I've already had it." She rolled over then and went to sleep with Scully's wide eyes on her back.

* * *

**_Reviews are finger-fuel, but sadly I'm not a hybrid. I don't run well without a lot. Let me know what you think. ~E. _**


	24. Drifting

_**Not sure how good this is. I've been tinkering with it for awhile and I was thinking of just rewriting the entire thing, but my exams are starting in school and I gotta study. Hope you like it. Read and REVIEW!**_

_**Chapter Twenty-Four:**_

Mulder gave eyes to the wolf he drew so elegantly. Black with streaks of white throughout, it stood alone on a high cliff and looked downward. It looked quite pitiful. An Insoli wolf, one without a clan or a pack, that roamed as it pleased who now suffered a hard decision. Should it either jump from it's perch and surely die, or continue to roam with no other purpose for living except for being alive?

The drawing would never tell the outcome. It wasn't supposed to. Mulder turned the page in his sketchbook to a clean white sheet and allowed himself to come back to the world around him.

Hospital staff and visitors walked by continuously, some slowing to take a peek at his handiwork. The strong scent of bleach hung heavily in the air. All of this Mulder was oblivious to. Every once in awhile, he'd catch a glimpse of the wide oak door opening, usually to a nurse checking in on the room's occupants. The thought crossed his mind as he wondered who Scully's roommate was, but it was fleeting. His mind was too wracked with worry.

"Fox?" a familiar voice said softly. He looked up to see Margaret Scully hovering over him with worried eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Mulder swallowed hard and turned off his ipod. "Charlie called me yesterday and told me. I thought I should be here. That, and I wanted to bring her this." He took the ipod touch out of his pocket. Maggie recognized it instantly. Neon pink swirls, hearts, and stars sprouting from the bottom and popping against the black background with matching earbuds wrapped around it. There was no doubt it was Dana's. If there was before, there sure wasn't when he hit a button and a picture of her and Mulder sprang up with the time, date, and unlock switch. "She asked me to put some stuff on it for her." he explained why he had it.

Maggie ran a hand up and down his back, comforting in a motherly way he wasn't used to. "She doesn't function well without that." she joked.

Mulder cracked a little smile. "Nope, she needs her music. I was surprised she didn't ask for it the next day." The smile faltered a bit, but remained. "Music helps her with her headaches, she says."

"Does it really?" she asked.

"She says it does. I didn't believe her at first either until I saw some of the stuff she has. About a gig of orchestral/symphonic stuff. Titanic soundtrack has quite a few listens." he reminisced the digs he'd thought of when he saw that.

"Oh, Fox." Maggie ruffled his hair a bit. She could tell the poor boy hadn't slept well the previous night. While Mulder never looked like he ever slept well, it was especially noticeable today. The bit of five o'clock shadow that sprang up, the dark rings under his eyes and his slumped posture were all sure signs of insomnia and heartache. She remembered herself looking similar when her husband was gone out to sea.

She was starting to wonder if it was really possible that her daughter and her boyfriend were as serious as they seemed to be. It was clear that they were deeply attached to one another, but love? That didn't come usually until around the third boyfriend, didn't it?

There was one thing that was clear in her mind, though: Mulder was no boy. He never kept her daughter out late, got her drugged or drunk, or disrespected anyone when it wasn't absolutely necessary. He had to have grown a backbone and a sense of maturity early in life. He had to fend for more than any usual teenager.

Put simply, he was more of a man than most thirty-year-olds Margaret knew.

He spoke when she remained silent. "I have to go to work. C…can you make sure she gets this and…"

"And?" she took the mp3 player.

"…Maybe hug her once for me?" Mulder pulled his jacket around his shoulders and picked up his backpack.

She smiled a bit. "Not a problem."

"Thanks." he sighed with a small polite smile and reluctantly headed out into the workforce.

_**(X)**_

Margaret went about talking to Dr. Smith before she went back to Scully's room. She creaked the door opened just a bit to see inside, not wanting to disturb anyone within.

Kai looked up from her book, _Sunday's at Tiffany's, _to wave enthusiastically at the visitor. Her bed creaked as she bounced up and down like a five-year-old instead of the thirteen-year-old she was.

It got the attention of Scully, who was apparently resting her eyes in the bed beside hers. "What are you doing over there?" she mumbled.

"Waving to your mom." she replied.

Scully rolled her head over and opened her eyes. Maggie's heart sank a little in her chest. Her daughter's eyes were bloodshot and tired and her skin was a ghostly pale color that came with being sick. She took one of Scully's freezing hands into hers and kissed her on the forehead. "That's from me…" she said and wrapped her arms around her. "…and that's from your little Romeo."

Her eyes brightened a bit. "Is he here?"

Maggie brushed a lock of hair behind her daughter's ear. "He was, hon, but they won't let him in yet and he had to go to work. He asked me to give you this too." she handed her the small device.

Scully turned it over a couple of times in her hands before setting it on the bedside table. She talked with her mother for a few minutes more before she left to let her get her rest. Scully waited a few minutes after her mother left before reaching for her ipod. With her fingernails as fulcrums, she pried off the protective backing and sent it skittering across the floor.

Kai went over to pick it up. "Mind sharing why your tearing apart your mp3 player?"

She pushed her hair behind her ear as she held up a folded-up square piece of paper. "This is why." Scully said with a triumphant smile. She unfolded it carefully and flattened it out against her leg. Scully pressed her thumbs into her eyes gently, willing them to focus enough for her. It was written meticulously, she noticed, with his special fountain pen due to the fluidity of the penmanship. She didn't really care about that right now, though. She began to read.

_S-,_

_I really don't know how to start this. I've been sitting here, staring at this door for a good chunk of the morning. I don't know how long for certain, I lost track of the hours. The only thing I know now is that I have to go to work while I'm dying to see you._

_You know that empty feeling you and I both got when I went to New York? I'm feeling that again. I don't know if you are as well. As selfish as it sounds, I kind of hope you are. I love you so much and it kills me that you're in the hospital (yet again). I want to see you so badly. I'm going to try to sneak in tonight after work when the nurses aren't watching me like a bunch of hawks over a trout pond. Until then._

_~M. _

Scully looked away from Kai as she finished as allowed herself one shaky breath before she forced the knot in her throat down and looked normal again. Or as normal as possible for someone in her condition. When she rolled back over, Kai was looking straight at her.

"Your lover boy sending you a message, and the old fashioned way too? How romantic." she said melodramatically in a fake southern-belle accent.

Scully stuck her tongue out at her counterpart childishly and tucked the note under her pillow for safe keeping. It was most likely going into her scrapbook when she got home. She then grabbed the remote for the television and started to flip. She stopped on what looked like an old thriller movie. Recognizing Kate Beckinsale, one of her favorite actresses, Scully left the TV there and allowed herself to become engrossed in the plot.

Her and Luke Wilson were trapped in this ratty hotel and are already trapped in and even rockier marriage. What they soon discover is that the hotel manager and his little henchmen are videotaping their every move. They are forced to put aside their differences in order to survive the night.

Scully watched with extreme interest, even jumping a little at the scarier parts. Making a mental note to look up the title later, she would soon drift off into a light daze.

Kai, who had watched the movie with Scully, pulled on her robe and slippers. She was getting a little cabin fever and decided to go roam around. She would go down to the cafeteria and eat gelatin with her cute guy friend who resided in the opposite wing of the hospital, sick with an incurable brain disease. They'd taken to each other in their long-term stay.

Scully felt rather bad to admit it to herself, but she was grateful to finally have a minute just alone with her thoughts. She'd always had her bedroom to retreat to when she was angry or confused or just wanted to be left alone. Here, there was no such thing as alone. There was always the risk of someone, whether it be a doctor, a nurse, or a family member, popping whenever someone was in the hospital. There just wasn't that sense of security Scully felt in her bedroom or in her boyfriend's arms that she felt odd even _thinking_.

She ended up falling asleep. Asleep she couldn't think about anything and the rest would help her get out of here sooner. The only thing Scully liked about being in the hospital is that she got to meet Kai. She would likely never regret meeting Kai, but just laying in that bed was getting old rather quickly.

The sooner she could even just get up and walk around, the better.

Her eyes drifted closed once more, the mid-afternoon sunlight not allowing her the bliss of sleep, but was not harsh enough to keep her in full consciousness. She floated somewhere between the two worlds, allowing herself to only focus on relaxing the sore muscles of her back and shoulders.

A rough yet gentle thumb brush across her cheek, but she refused to open her eyes. She had not heard the door open, nor was she really listening for it, though. The familiar scent of oil-based paint and Old Spice 'After Hours' encompassed her. Even when he leaned down to kiss her cheek, she wouldn't budge.

"I don't want you to see me like this." she spoke softly so he knew she meant no malice.

Mulder rested a hand on either side of her small frame, taking her into his hands. "Truth is, I might not want to see you like this, but it isn't a matter of 'want'. I _need _to see you, Scully." He ran his stubbly cheek along the cotton sleeve on her arm. "Please?"

He sounded so pitiful and she was having a hard time keeping her eyes closed. She could've gone on forever just hearing and feeling him around her, but she knew he needed more than that. Mulder needed to see eyes looking back at him. Watching him and reacting with emotions, all of which seemed to be visible to him in two little white and green orbs.

She picked her head up and, a little reluctantly, turned to meet his gaze.

Mulder drank in the sight. If he didn't know better, he would've said she was wearing colored contacts. Her eyes were a deep blood-red shade that he'd never seen on anyone naturally before. Even his Albino friend back in New York didn't have eyes like that.

Her expression was what really got him. She was tired. Not the kind of tired he'd been witnessed to after she had a hard shift at work and dozed off with her head on his shoulder. It was deeper. He bit down on the inside of his mouth so he wouldn't say something stupid. Mulder held his arms out, waiting, inviting.

Words could never put a meaning to how badly she needed that hug he was offering. It felt like it had been years since she been in those arms when in reality it was only a few days ago. She scooted up to him and took the offer; the desperation in her grasp was more than a little apparent.

"How you holdin' up?" he mumbled into her hair.

She turned her face into the side of his neck. "I've gotten considerably better in the last minute or so." she mumbled back.

Mulder smiled a little. "I'm touched." He leaned back just far enough to press his lips against her forehead for a long moment. Cupping her face in his hands, he met her eyes squarely and did his best to ignore how red they were. Her hands rested at his waist, gently willing him to stay close.

"I love you." He didn't know what else to say. Was there really anything else to say? Those three simple words could convey so much that was it really necessary for everything else that came along with that?

"I know." she breathed with a slight nod of her head. She knew what he was trying to say. He was scared for her and just as desperate to be near her as she was him. She took his hand in hers, wove their fingers together. "I love you, too." Scully whispered. "Thank you for bringing my ipod back to me."

He shrugged. "I know you can get cranky without it."

She chuckled, an honest smile coming over her face. "I do not."

"Yes, you do. Especially when people are buzzing around you and acting like you're not even there. You use music as an escape from that." he told her.

Their gazes still held solidly, almost as if there was nowhere else in the world to look.

"How do you know that?" Rather than denying his statement, Scully looked at him with a baffled expression.

He smiled lightly. "You've done it around me before. When it's just us in that corner of your living room, you'll have a book in your lap and all of a sudden everybody's running around like a chicken with their head cut off and there's TV's blaring and you're sister and mother are yelling about something, you'll put on those headphones and you're just somewhere far off." Mulder's smile grew in strength. "I'll put mine in one of the splicer's slots and you'll be listening to either Sarah McLachlan or that one Saliva song over and over again and I just hold you tighter just to let you know I'm there for you."

Scully watched him with watery eyes. Everything he'd just said was completely true. And she was terrified. Nobody had ever knew her that well to notice that she alienated the people around her and retreated into the little world inside her mind she'd created for herself as a little girl.

But, then again, there was never anyone like Mulder before.

"I love that song." she said quietly.

"It's a good song." he agreed.

"Would you sing it to me?"

He drew back a bit. Mulder's voice was already hoarse and thick with concern for her. He was well on the verge of losing it completely, but he would never deny her anything.

_The complicated ways of love_

_Become all you're thinking of_

_Sometimes leaving's not the way_

_No matter what you say_

_And lies are compromises_

_You see it in each other's eyes_

_And suddenly you realize that_

_You can't take it one more day_

'_Cause you know I'd cross oceans to find you_

_And you know I can't live without you_

_And love is all that matters anyway_

_Forever and a day_

Scully was listening to him carefully, focused solely on him. It's for this reason she was angry when the yawn passed her lips.

"Am I boring you, Ms. Scully?" he kidded.

"To tears." she replied sarcastically. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired no matter what right now."

He tucked her hair behind her ears for her. "Why don't you try to get some rest." he gently nudged her back down to the pillow.

"No, I wanna stay up." she leaned back a bit, but not settling herself completely into the uncomfortable bed. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too, hon." he replied lightly. "I'd feel better though if you were resting."

Scully leaned back even further still, already wishing she had the warmth and strength of him pressed up against her again. "This is starting to get really old." she said.

"What is?" he asked as he pulled up a chair beside the bed.

"Being here while you're over there."

Mulder watched her carefully avert her eyes. He knew she meant her being in a hospital bed while he sat beside it and waited with her for her body to become well again. He was starting to feel the same way about being on his side of this increasingly frequent predicament.

Getting up from his chair, Mulder realized how pointless the object really was. Careful of the IV, he sat on the bed and leaned down, resting his head against her shoulder and watching the door, ready to jump up should anyone enter it.

Scully was a bit surprised. The familiar weight of his head so close to her chest and the 'head and shoulders' shampoo he would've used that morning comforted her. She brought a hand up to run her fingers through the short silky strands, his pulse point pressing into her lulled her like a lullaby. Bringing the other hand up, she rested it lightly over his heart and before she even knew it, she was lost to dream world in her mind.

Mulder couldn't move and could barely breathe. If there was anything he would kill himself for right now, it would be for waking her. He wasn't sure what he should do. He didn't want to risk getting up if she wasn't completely out cold and the position he was in wasn't exactly the most comfortable in the world. With nothing better to do, he just lay there with her awkwardly, providing her as much comfort as he could.

* * *

**_Review...now...please?_**


	25. A Fairytale on the Fringe

_**Wow, so I know I haven't updated this in FOR-EVER, and I apologize for this in sheer neglect in you, my faithful fans. Well, I had this epiphany today in History class (not this chapter, but the next one lol) of what should happen next and I had to finish this chapter in order to write my vision as I see it thus far. That's about as technical sounding as I can get. Hope you read and review and I love you all. Thanks for putting up with me. This is kinda based on the problems I'm having in my life right about now, a couple of the reasons why my muse hasn't been with me. **_

_**Chapter Twenty-Five:**_

Mulder would continue to sneak into Scully's hospital room for the remainder of her stay there. He and Kai became fast friends with their mutual interest in supernatural phenomenon. Their conversations kept him entertained while he sat by his slumbering girlfriend's bed.

It seemed to be one of those times.

"Of course Olivia knew she was brainwashed at the time because she wouldn't have remembered Peter if she wasn't!" Kai whispered as loudly as she could.

"The woman's in a parallel universe where everything she's ever thought was real has been turned on it's head. She knows that to her everything's a lie, but to the other Olivia, it's her life and her truth. It's what she has to pretend to know to get back to where she belongs." Mulder returned.

Kai processed Mulder's words. They'd been quietly debating the trials and tribulations of one Agent Olivia Dunham of the FOX television show "Fringe" for the better part of a half-hour now. She looked over at Scully's sleeping frame and feel her own wave of fatigue hit her despite the fact her cancer was getting a bit better. She looked out the window. "I miss Gene."

Mulder smiled. The infamous cow (literally, a cow) was rarely seen on the show anymore in pen in the corner of the lab at Harvard University. He didn't have time to formulate a response before she asked a new question.

"What's it like to be in love?"

He looked up at her big doe-like eyes. "I don't really know if I'm the best guy to answer that question."

Kai looked confused. "Why? You do love Dana, don't you?"

"Of course I do, but that's just it…" Mulder twirled the pencil he'd found in his back pocket around his thumb. "I don't love her like most people love."

"What do you mean?" she leaned in, eager to hear his explanation.

He tapped the pencil against the arm of the chair and flicked it around his thumb three more times in rapid succession. Mulder had been growing tired of trying to explain the complexities of his relationship with Scully to people whom he didn't feel comfortable giving all the immense details to. "You _really_ wanna know?"

Kai smiled. "Only if you're willing to share."

Mulder continued spinning the pencil around his fingers. "The heart can't see. It can't fall in love with someone because of their looks. And once it's chosen who it wants, there isn't any way of going back on that. That's what I feel for her most of the time." he looked over at Scully's peaceful frame, her back to them. "I'd jump in front of a train for her if she asked. I'd trade the rest of my life for one hour in her embrace." he spoke with a truthfulness that could not be faked.

His audience rested a hand over her chest lightly. "What a regular Romeo you are."

"Very funny." he smiled at her before checking his watch. "I've got to go. Tell her I love her when she wakes up, would you?"

Kai returned his grin. "I'll do my best."

He gave the small girl a big bear hug and pressed his lips to his sleeping girlfriend's forehead before he donned his coat and took off into the twilight. The sun cast a orange glow over everything in the room as Kai noticed her roommate's hair take on a deeper shade of red.

A knock at the door brought her around out of her thoughts. "It's open." she called.

A tall, scrawny boy came into the room that Kai didn't know from Adam. His face seemed to be a breeding ground for acne and he sported a diamond-patterned sweater vest with tan slacks and loafers. He had a bouquet of roses clenched in his left hand.

Yet something told Kai he wasn't a huge hit with his female peers.

"Hello?" she snagged his attention away from Scully, who merely rolled over in her sleep only as far as her IV would allow. "Who are you?"

The lanky boy seemed to fumble around his words before finding his voice. He pushed his taped glasses further up his nose. "My name is Mulder, I'm Dana's boyfriend."

Kai looked him up and down with an incredulous look. She chuckled humorlessly. "No, you're not."

He cleared his throat and stepped in closer. "I'm sorry, miss, but I don't think you have the right to tell me who I am and who I'm not." he stepped in to sit next to Scully on the bed.

"Don't go any closer." she said in a dead serious monotone. Kai might not have known a lot or experienced many things in this world so far, but the female 'creeper' senses that applied to most all women in her brain went on high alert. Maybe it was the fake name or the way he was drooling over Scully's unconscious frame, but she had the sudden urge to protect her friend.

Scully started to come around, a wonderful dream being so rudely interrupted by the sound of bickering voices. "Kai, what's goin' on?"

"Who is this guy, Dana?" Kai asked, resuming a normal volume in her voice.

Scully rubbed her eyes, then opened them tentatively. Her eyes, which weren't very reliable to begin with, seemed to need extra time to normalize and give her an actual image. The figure and the voice, however, were enough for her to take a good guess who it was.

"Arnold?" Scully asked. "What are you doing here?"

He faltered for a moment. "Scully, it's Mulder."

"No, it isn't. What do you think I am? Delusional?" Scully asked incredulously.

"Delusions are very common when it comes to meningitis." Arnold stated, looking more depressed as the seconds ticked by. "I just wish you knew that I care about you, Dana."

Scully looked on at him squeezed her aching eyes shut. "I care about you too, Arnold, just not in that way."

"You could learn to." he mumbled.

She shook her head. "You know I can't."

He nodded his head, seemingly ready to accept defeat. "He's a lucky man." Arnold commented as he set the roses on the table at the foot of her bed. "I should go. Take care of yourself Dana. I'll see you around."

Both women watched him walk out. Kai couldn't help the relief she felt wash over her. "I'm sorry, he's just a bit too creepy."

"He cares. That's the first step towards decency when it comes to men." Scully said before she felt her eyes drift closed again.

_**(X)**_

A few more days had passed by with a lot of nothingness happening all the way along. Kai, who'd been elated by the news that her tumors were shrinking, proved to be a good comedy source as Scully recuperated from her own misfortunes. She'd dance around and crack jokes when her friend was awake and curled into her bed or visited her friends in the cafeteria while she was asleep. Scully couldn't honestly have wished for a better roommate.

She did, however, feel guilty that she was going to be released from the hospital tomorrow morning while Kai was going to be stuck here. The poor girl didn't deserve to live the best years of her life in a hospital. She was so happy and cheerful despite her situation and it made her all the more likeable.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Mulder's friendly face popping inside the door. "Hey beautiful."

"Hi." she smiled.

"What'cha been up to?"

"What does it look like?"

He smiled sympathetically. Mulder stepped into the room the rest of the way to reveal that he was carrying a rather large black, zip-up case. "What's that thing?" Scully asked.

"We use these for portfolios down at work so everything fits. I drew something up for Kai I think she'll like." He reached into the square case and came up with a huge portrait of the _Fringe_ cast.

Scully smiled. "I think she'll like it."

Mulder smiled, pleased with his work. "I can't wait till you get out of here. I want to see you out in the sunlight so bad."

"It's not like I want to be here anymore than you do." Scully bit back a little harshly.

He looked at her a second time. "Are you alright?"

She pulled her blanket up around herself. "For the most part."

Mulder set himself down on the edge of her bed tha had become his. "What's up?"

Scully pulled her knees up to her chest, folded her arms, and rested her head on top of the pile. "You can't tell my mom or anybody about this. It's not like I'm even gonna do it."

"Babe, you know you can trust me." he gave her a comforting squeeze to her shoulder.

She tingled a little inside at the way he called her 'babe'. "Do you remember my friend Julie? You met her that one time we had lunch in the courtyard before school got out?"

Mulder smiled, "Yeah, she hated my guts. What about her?"

Scully wanted to chuckle. One of her best friends for years now, she hadn't really taken a liking to Muder in his brand new Hinder album shirt and baggy black trick pants even on a hot spring/summer day. When she'd told her not to judge a book by it's cover, she merely shrugged and let the subject drop. Julie was anti-social to a fault and she only talked to people who she believed weren't idiots. This made her a rather difficult person to deal with.

Scully liked her well enough. She had some fault, but who doesn't? "We were instant messaging last night and she asked me if I wanted to go to Washington D.C. with her."

He considered it a moment. "Doesn't sound too horrible. D.C.'s only a couple of hours away."

"…for two weeks." she added.

"Why so long? Paris Hilton probably doesn't even take that long to shop."

"She didn't just want to shop. She wants to go on all these tours and see the White House and everything. Fact is, I hate D.C. I think it's one of the dirtiest cities there can be. There's drugs and prostitutes on every street corner and it would just be the two of us and a hotel room."

Mulder looked at the floor a moment. "I wouldn't want you to go. I know what big cities are like no matter where you go. They're unsafe and disgusting."

"And not even for just those reasons. I have a job that I can't take that much time off of, colleges that I need to check into and…you." Scully whispered. "I feel like I've spent so much time away from you lately."

He enveloped her hand in his. "We haven't had a lot of time together since school got out for summer."

"And I told her all of this, right? Well, about an hour later I got an email from her saying that I needed to quote 'grow some balls and stop doing what everyone else wants me to do'." she said. "She also thought that I was being unfair because she does everything I ask her to, which is next to nothing. The last thing I asked her to do was to run a note down to a teacher."

"That's not right." Mulder stated simply. "You probably know what I would say."

Scully thought for a moment. "Screw the bitch?"

"Baby, you know me so well."

She smiled a little. "I shouldn't let her get to me, should I?"

"Hell no, not if she wants to be a little manipulative five-year-old. I'd say ignore her for awhile and she'll get the picture if you don't want to cut her out completely." he reasoned.

"I guess it just took me by surprise. I mean, we're close, but I didn't think we were that close. It just seems to me that spending all that time with a friend would only serve to drive a wedge, you know?" he nodded. "The more tired and sicker you get of each other, the more friction rises and then you're angry and miserable for the rest of the trip."

Mulder quirked an eyebrow, "You getting sick of me, Scully?"

She actually grinned at that one. "No…we're different."

"How so?" he asked with a smile.

Her spirits lifted a little at the lighter conversation. "Because you're irritating in a cute way."

"I'm irritating? How am I irritating?" he asked with mock hurt.

Scully laid back down in her bed casually. "When you comment on the one sentence in my books that you bother to read over my shoulder. And when you tower over me so I have to break my neck in order to see you."

"Well, I'm sorry if you read some awkward books. I don't mean to tower over you either, it just works out that way." Mulder defended.

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

_**(X)**_

Life continued on as normal for a week or so. Scully resumed work and Mulder lovingly stalked her every free moment that she wasn't. She had, however, received an increase in text messages from Arnold (where he got her number was still a mystery) that she wasn't thrilled with. She ignored him as best she could, but she could only last so long before she would turn her phone off and claim ignorance.

It was a bright Tuesday afternoon that Scully had so far had for herself. She'd just gotten through _Pride and Prejudice_ and was just starting _The House of Mirth_ when she felt a chill and her light source disappeared.

"I quit my job."

Scully looked up from her book underneath her favorite tree in her backyard at her boyfriend. The sunlight silhouetted him in such a way that she couldn't see his face clearly. "You're joking, right?"

"Maybe a little. I guess you could say I was 'relieved of my position'." Mulder replied as he sat down next to her.

"Why? Everyone loved you and you were doing well." Tossing her book to the side, Scully leaned in closer and nudged his arm around her shoulders.

"They hired a new guy whose more experienced and older and her can devote his life to that place. My boss told me he could keep me on if I made it worth his while and worked twice as many hours doing less-than-fun things." he said.

"You already work almost thirty hours a week." Scully thought out loud. "Has he ever heard of these things called 'child labor laws'?"

Mulder smirked. "I told him, quite frankly, that if I didn't have a life, then it might be possible, but last I checked, I do, so I gave my two weeks notice."

"What are you going to do for a job?" she asked.

"There you are, Scully. Always looking at the long-term." he smiled, but she gave him the 'I'm serious' look. "Despite what some may think, I do have some friends. I might be calling in a few favors, but I'll find something. I can't get too worried about it."

"Jeez…" Scully rested her head against his shoulder. "I wish I could quit my job and be that cool about it."

"I thought you liked your job, babe?"

Scully shook her head, "While I was sick, they hired this new manager and she's about the biggest…B-I…I have ever had the pleasure of meeting."

"You want me to come down and sock her one?" Mulder asked.

Scully rolled her eyes. "I said I wish I could quit, not that I want to get fired. Besides, there are always going to be people in the world like that and I guess the sooner I learn that, the better."

"There's some positive thinking." he said.

"I don't want to talk about work anymore." Scully stated.

"I don't blame you." Mulder smiled mischievously as pulled her more securely into his lap. "How about we just not talk at all?"

She chuckled, "Your suggestion's rather tempting." Scully just now got a look at what he was wearing; a tight black t-shirt with long, baggy trick pants. "God, how do you not melt wearing black in this heat?"

"The same way I suppose you don't." He took in the sight of her little black spaghetti-strapped tank top not for the first time.

"Mine's different. At least my skin's allowed the luxury of breathing."

He laughed a little. Mulder had thought of doing laundry this morning in order to get a pair of shorts clean, but that just seemed to be too much effort too early in the morning for his little brain. He'd rather be a little warm around her instead of being in a dirty pair of pants.

He scanned the windows of the house, curiosity getting the better of him. Maggie was watching the television in the kitchen, her daily soap opera playing. Neither of the Bills were anywhere to be seen nor Melissa, who was spending her summer vacation at home. He caught a glimpse of Charlie speeding down the driveway and out onto the sidewalk on his bike, most likely heading to his friend's house a few blocks down the road.

Everything was quiet and peaceful. It was a good moment alone to tell her.

"Dana?" he whispered.

That caught her attention. "Yeah?"

He sighed and tried to find the courage. "I thought you should know…my parents are going to be out of town this weekend."

Scully drew her bottom lip between her teeth. The statement in itself honestly meant nothing, but it was what he was implying by it that made her insides tremble and her heartbeat race. To be with Mulder, actually _be_ with Mulder, was something she'd only been fantasizing for about the last few months. It was an avenue in their relationship that she no doubt wanted to travel with him, but she would be surprised if it got past the planning stage. It wasn't because she doubted him or his desire for her, that just wasn't it.

Something didn't feel quite right. A tingle ran up her spine that she couldn't explain, but it still made her uneasy.

Mulder, however, took her silence as doubt. "You can still back out if you want to. I don't want to pressure you into this."

"I _do_ want this for us, Mulder." she took his hand in both of hers, refusing to meet his eyes. "Don't question that."

He took a deep breath in and let it out after a few seconds, drawing in the scent of her hair as he went. "Can you get away this weekend?"

She traced meaningless patterns across his palm. "I can tell them that I'm spending the night at Monica's. My dad might drive by around ten or eleven to see if the car's in the driveway, otherwise it's not a big deal. They like Monica despite the numerous reasons she's given them not to."

He smiled. "Reyes is quite an infectious character." Mulder's voicce wavered a little before it dropped even quieter than before. "And if you change your mind…any time…"

"I know." she nodded shakily to reassure him. The adrenaline that rushed through her veins at that point was hardly containable. He held her down from jumping up and down like a jackrabbit and got her to focus her newfound energy on her book. They would act like they'd never had that conversation before in their lives. If her mom would ask what they were doing out there, she would merely reply with something remotely related to their jobs.

Everyone knows that the easiest, even the littlest lies to keep, are the ones that are closest to the truth.

* * *

**_What will happen? Will they actually get the opportunity? Will their parents find out about their little scheme? Will something else happen entirely? You have to review in order to find out. XD_**


	26. Violet Hill

**_Um...hi. So I'm so sorry if some of you are so mad at me that you never wanna read my stuff again, but that last semester of school got so intense and I started a new job I've honestly had no time to write. Now that it's summer though, I have my muse under lock and key in my mind and I can continue this. I love all of you that have stuck around and have waited for so long for this. I hope I don't disappoint. _**

**_P.S. This chapter is rated M for one little word that I let slip towards the end here.  
_**

Chapter Twenty-Six:

With some sense of normalcy finally starting to creep back into her life, Dana Scully sat by her dark bedroom window late Thursday night. The hands on the clock read nearly one in the morning and her calendar reassured her an early shift tomorrow at work, but she didn't seem to care about either. Her eyes that were earlier so heavy now had energized over the course of the last few hours and didn't wish to grant her the sleep she knew she would need. The cool New England night air seeped into her skin through the open window as she stared out into it aimlessly down the street.

She'd been writing onto the pages of the word document she considered her diary. The pages were kept saved on a special jump drive that she kept in the lock box on her dresser. It was also password protected just in case Charlie or Melissa, when she was home, decided to snoop. The little bit of privacy she could have in her house she indulged in.

'I feel really off tonight.' she typed; the keys sounding so loud against the silence. 'It just feels like there's this dark weight pulling my heart down into my stomach. The more time that passes, the further down it seems to sink, as well. I wish I knew why. There's nothing in my life that is new or horrible in any way, which makes me fear why I feel this way.'

'God, I really wish Mulder was here right now. If I close my eyes, the only thing I can envision is him holding me while he strokes my hair a few times before burying himself into it. If only that were true tonight. I could use the comfort that comes from his presence. The thought of his warm body pressed up against mine alone is enough to send a jolt up my spine.'

'It's this thought that leads me to thinking that this could be my last night wondering. Wondering what it would be like to lay next to him. What it would be like to touch him. Would he quiver under my fingers as I do for him? Would he be gentle and caring or wild and passionate?

'Would it hurt like they say it does?

'Hurt. That's all my mind can seem to fathom these days. Not that Mulder's hurt me in any way, that's not it. He's been distant lately with that far-off and thinking look on his face. And yesterday I went to give him one of my best hugs and it wasn't received well. He grunted and tensed under my arms, and perhaps winced as well. He wouldn't let me look at the bruises I already know he has. I know it's bad when he thinks it's too gruesome to show me. He's only trying to protect me, but I can't figure out why when I already know what's happening. It might tear my heart to pieces and make me want to retch every time I even try to think about it, but I still know.

She looked back outside, the streetlights now turned off. She brought her fleece robe around herself more fully to fight off the growing chill in the room as she saved the document. Closing the laptop left her totally swallowed in darkness until she reached for her phone. There weren't any new messages. Her inbox contained a conversation she'd had with Monica today and a few hateful text messages she had yet to delete from one of her 'friends' that seemed to think the word "bitch" was a term of endearment.

Scully dialed the familiar number without hesitation. His phone was never off, nor was he ever asleep. He even told her once that he probably averaged three hours of sleep a night and functioned all day like he always did. The days they had to themselves she tried to get him to nap, even though it usually proved no good. He would just watch her sleep.

Looking at the phone longingly, she didn't allow herself to dial the numbers. Whatever sleep she could allow her boyfriend, she wasn't going to take away from it.

Crawling under the covers, she pushed aside the uneasiness in her mind and willed herself to go to sleep.

(X)

"Hey Buddy, is tonight the big night?" Frohike elbowed his friend in the ribs teasingly.

Mulder sighed heavily before rubbing his eyes. Sleep had eluded him throughout the night. His mind meandered around thoughts of his girlfriend all the previous night. His parents feuding throughout the night above him didn't help the sandman come either. He couldn't bring himself to care about his dreariness. In another two hours, his parents would be out of the house for the entire weekend. He wouldn't have a care in the world except for the beautiful woman that would be in his company that night.

"Mulder, we need to have band practice again this week." Byers chimed in, trying to change the subject for his friend's benefit.

"How's Wednesday work?" Mulder asked.

"Perfect. How about you bring your little chickadee by when you come?" Langly proposed.

"Maybe I will." Mulder retorted.

"Wow, we'll actually get to meet the ever elusive Dana? Gee, I feel so honored." Langly said sarcastically.

Mulder rose from the couch. "Wish I could entertain you boys longer, but I have a life to get back to."

"See ya later." They all said almost in perfect unison. He just had to laugh at the people he picked as his closest friends.

Mulder drove through the sunny streets of suburbia with the windows rolled down and his radio turned up a little louder than what was considered appropriate, but could anyone really get angry at someone playing Coldplay at high volume. He thought not. His male counterparts might turn their heads at the musical choice, but he could've cared less. A guy could like Coldplay without being gay.

He pulled into his driveway feeling much more awake than he had been when he'd been with the guys. It might have been because there wasn't anyone probing him for gossip like a bored housewife, but "Violet Hill" could've lifted his spirits a little as well. He didn't really care which it was.

It wasn't until he had stepped into his house that his mood would sink again.

(X)

_Was a long and dark December_

_From the rooftops I remember_

_There was snow…white snow_

_Clearly I remember,_

_From the windows they were watchin'_

_While we froze down below_

_When your future's architectured_

_By a carnival of idiots on show_

_You better lie low_

_If you love me, won't you let me know?_

"Was a long and dark December, when the banks became cathedrals and a fox became God…" Scully hummed the words to herself. This song always made her think of Mulder. It's seemingly random lyrics had a much deeper meaning to them that one wouldn't really pick up on just listening to the melody. You had to dig beneath the surface to find the truth behind them. She felt the same way about Mulder anymore.

Scully wanted to believe that there were no secrets between them, but that just seemed to be getting harder and harder to believe as of late. He still told her everything, but those rare occasions where he distanced himself from her really hurt. She told him everything that was on her mind. Why couldn't he do the same?

She finished touching up her mascara, trying not to go too heavily on the make-up. To everyone else in the house, she was spending the night at Monica's. Technically Scully would go to Monica's house. From there, she'd be picked up by Mulder and brought back to get her car in the morning. Sneaky…yes, but it would be effective.

Checking herself over in the mirror one more time, Scully straightened out Mulder's favorite black tank top and adjusted her suicide jeans. Morning was going to be freezing and she wanted to be as prepared for it as she could be. She ran a couple more swipes of the straightener over her hair and pulled the bulky necklace with his ring on it over her head. She then grabbed her overnight bag and left her bedroom.

"Mom, I'm taking off." She called out.

"Okay, hon. Have a good night." Maggie Scully replied.

Scully pulled on her converse and Mulder's jacket, waiting for her mother to rush to the door to inspect her outfit and interrogate, but she didn't come. When she went to investigate herself, Scully saw her mother and father pouring over the crossword with every dictionary in the house on either side of them. They didn't even look up as their daughter came into the kitchen. She gave them each a peck on the cheek and a goodnight.

Once she arrived at Monica's house, however, turned out to be the worst part. She seemed more anxious than Scully was. She paced the living room back and forth while John sat on the couch enjoying the view.

"When did he say he was coming?" Monica asked for the fourth time in twenty minutes.

"Another ten minutes, Mon. Will you stop pacing? You're making me nervous." Scully looked at her friend with pleading eyes.

"Let her do it, I'm gonna sit with her on my lap for four hours after you leave while she bawls her eyes out to Titanic." John said without looking up from his book. The well-worn copy of The Prince looked surprisingly familiar.

"Isn't that my Machiavelli?" Scully asked.

"I got it off Mon's desk." John said innocently.

Monica smiled. "He was annoying me so I gave him that to read. It was the only thing I had that wasn't 'girly'."

"It's very interesting." John stated and declared himself out of the conversation by raising the book in front of his face again.

"You're being nice and antisocial tonight, John." Monica said with her hands on her hips.

"For a reason, though. This is female worry-wart, bonding time that I shouldn't be a part of." He smiled.

Monica stuck her tongue out at him just as the doorbell rang and she jumped out of her skin in surprise. Scully grinned, picked up her bag and threw a "catch you later" over her shoulder.

Scully squeezed out the door, a smile spreading across her face as she saw Mulder in the sunset light. She wasn't worried about being seen with him now; they were in a completely different neighborhood where no one knew their business. That was the one thing Scully liked about Monica's street. Everybody kept to themselves and had better things to do than stare out the window to catch the action on the street.

He looked so good in his simple jeans and black leather jacket on black shirt. He smiled at her and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips in greeting, but something was off. His eyes weren't as happy as they usually were.

"You ready?" he asked quietly.

"As I'll ever be." she replied. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You just look like you're really far away."

Mulder smiled a little and brought her into a tight hug, "I couldn't be more with you right now if I tried."

The ride across town was quiet and full of unspoken tension. Her mind was racing a million miles a minute as house after house passed outside her window. Now that he was within reach, there was nothing that Scully wanted to do more than to just close up that distance between them and wrap him in her arms for the rest of her life. Every red light seemed to take forever and God forbid the dreaded four-way stops.

His hand rested on the console between them and she took it in hers eagerly. Feeling a little more bold than usual, she leaned over and rested her head against the palm, forcing it to skitter across her cheek lightly several times. "I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you more." The words would've been enough to make heart melt if he didn't sound like a robot while saying them. He pulled into the driveway and was out of the car before she could ask him where he was again. She followed him into the house wordlessly as he made his way down into the basement he called home.

Scully was scared. Something was obviously not right with him, and it wasn't that he had cold feet. If Mulder was having doubts about tonight, he would've said something a lot sooner. He wanted her here, but for something much deeper than what they had planned.

She continued down the stairs, dropping her bag off to the side. Mulder sat at the foot of the bed with his head in his hands, his elbows digging into his knees from the weight. The pain was rolling off of him in waves and Scully wasn't sure what to do. She knew she wanted to hold him, but for some reason it just didn't seem like what he wanted. Kneeling in front of him, she tried to meet his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You deserve so much better than this." He covered his face with his palms, shutting her out.

She exhaled on a humorless laugh. This conversation was getting quite old. "Mulder, I don't know what to do anymore if you're going to start this again. I need you in my life. Everything makes sense when I'm with you."

"You know what doesn't make sense?" He lifted his face to meet her gaze. The entire left side of his face was covered in bruised and blackened flesh. The damage was obviously worse in small circular areas where knuckles had been. Scully said nothing. "I came home in time to say good-bye. That's all."

"Mulder…" she stuttered, something she hadn't done in years. Fumbling for words rarely happened to her anymore. "…you can't blame yourself for this."

"I don't, Scully, but the lies are getting harder to deal with. What happens when one of these days your mom asks me how I got something like this?" he gestured to his face. "Or any of these?" he tugged his t-shirt over his head. His chest was covered in dark black splotches. "Don't you at least deserve someone who can take their shirt off at the beach?"

"I don't care about any of that." she said whole-heartedly. "As for my family, the Scully's have always been known for boys who rough-house. You'd be weird if you didn't have a bump or a bruise at one time or another." Scully reached up to trace random patterns on his kneecap. "I love you for you. I can't just turn it off because you tell me you think I should. I can't…"

"You can't what?" he asked.

"I can't stand seeing what all of this does to you. You're so paranoid." She moved up to sit beside him on the bed.

"I…" he shook his head. He knew she was right and he was just on another self-loathing spree. They were becoming more and more frequent lately. "I'm sorry, but people have strange ways of telling me they love me."

"This…" she ran her hand along the injured side of his face. The heat of her touch stung his aching flesh, but he couldn't recoil from it either. "I don't know what you call this, but I don't call it love."

"I really do love you, Dana." He spoke softly. "I'm sorry I haven't sounded very sincere lately."

She smiled a very sly, very suggestive smile. "There's an old saying that says 'actions speak louder than words.'"

Mulder grinned. "There's a prettier one that says 'journeys end in lovers meeting, every wise man's son doth know."

"Yeah, but you're a romantic with your Shakespeare and all your philosophical/psychological mumbo-jumbo."

"Keep talking."

"Why?"

"'Cause I know a very good way to shut you up."

"I'm waiti-" His mouth crushed hers mid-statement. Mulder's tongue forced its way into her mouth, causing her to fight the battle for dominance. She had to admit she was a little more than turned on at his take-charge attitude. She ran her hands over his back and sides. He moaned into the kiss and put a hand on her thigh to keep himself from toppling over onto her. He was sure a little smoothness on his part would be appreciated.

He pulled away way too soon for Scully's liking. Her breath was coming in short pants, her lungs trying to recover from the lack of oxygen. He saw the desire in her eyes shining so brightly it might hurt to look directly into it. It was reflected in his own green orbs, but he had to ask.

"Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?"

She leaned her forehead against his and nodded, forcing him to nod along with her a little.

Mulder kissed her again in response, and this time he did push her back onto the bed.

(X)

_Cold. So cold._

_A dark damp concrete box with a steel door. An itchy burlap shirt is all I'm wearing. I feel nauseous and the world if off kilter. I try to pick up my head, but that only makes it worse. Consciously, I know this is correct. It's one of the more frequented places by my subconscious as a setting for my nightmares, but then again, I'm not conscious right now._

_The door opens and the bright light comes in, only serving to worsen my condition tenfold, but something feels different about it this time. The black figures come and drag me down the ominous hallway where they chain me to the floor like so many times before, but when I finally find the strength to lift my head up, it's not the eight-foot tall man with the bag over his head and blood on his chest that I see._

_It's Scully._

_Beautiful, perfect Scully._

_The gargantuan is behind her. I tell her to run, but she doesn't react. She's also chained to the ground, so it wouldn't even help._

_The monster runs his fingers through the strands of the whip in his hands. The shards of metal embedded into the leather have my eyes widening._

_I scream, "You so much as lay one hand on her and I WILL KILL YOU, YOU FUCKER!"_

_The whip cracks as it breaks the sound barrier._

Mulder bolted upright in bed, his breathing labored and his vision swimming. In that moment, he wished there was some kind of surgery he could have that could remove the part of his brain that caused him these nightmares. He didn't care that he had them every single night or that they made him face his own mortality before, but he was sure he'd go clinically insane if they began to feature Scully. That's where he drew the line.

He looked up at the window and saw it was still dark outside. The alarm clock read one thirty-four a.m. And the woman in his bed just rolled closer to him.

Scully's eyes were still closed; a good sign that didn't really mean much. She had apparently reached over the edge of the bed sometime during the night and pulled his t-shirt over her head. The words 'Vertical Horizon' were barely legible over the wrinkles in the fabric.

He eased himself back down between the covers and she scooted closer, still not opening her eyes. He laid his arm out in invitation, which she wandered into when she picked her head up to use his shoulder as a pillow. He enveloped her warmly.

"Are you okay?"

Her near-silent voice surprised him a bit. Mulder kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep. Everything's okay."

"Way ahead of you, hon." She unintentionally stretched the words out in her half-conscious-half-sleep state.

"Love you," he spoke into her hair, hoping to get his point across before she conked out. He'd forced his breathing back to normal, but he wasn't going to be falling back asleep anytime soon, he knew. He was going to be lying there emptying all the horrendous thoughts from his mind and focusing on what was real.

Scully sleeping next to him was real. The love they'd made only a couple hours ago was real. The fact that she was alive and off in her own peaceful dreamland was real. She was not being tortured by faceless giants and that was good enough for Mulder.

She reached out in her sleep and wrapped her arm around his waist in her sleep and nuzzled his shoulder. "Love you, too," she mumbled cutely. Mulder couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face.

* * *

_**So I'm sorry for those of you who were expecting a little more...description in the love scene than that, but let's face it, I'm terrible at writing love scenes and I would rather have you a little irritated with me than have me butcher the entire chapter. As before, any comments ideas and critiques are welcome and I promise to update this more regularly over the course of the summer. **_


	27. Bound to you

_**Okay, this chapter caused me so many issues because my mind's just about million miles away right now, so I'm so sorry if this sucks. I promise a much better chapter twenty eight. **_

_**Song mentioned about halfway through is "Bound to You" by Christina Aguilera from the Burlesque soundtrack. I love that movie and it was on HBO when I was watching this. Yes, I know I'm sad. XD**_

_**Chapter Twenty-Seven:**_

Twilight hour set in over the eastern seaboard and the half-circle sun cast oranges and pinks into the sky, blending them like a master painter. Mulder watched it carefully for a few moments as he mentally prepared himself to approach the Scully home.

Two days had passed since he and Scully's late-night rendezvous and she said her parents had said nothing. They weren't suspicious in the least except for the fact that Mulder hadn't been around. He was afraid one wrong look could give them up entirely.

Scully also hadn't called or texted him all day, telling him that something wasn't quite right. Never before had a day go by that they plain out didn't communicate. Even if she was angry or depressed, she always made note to tell him about it. Usually after he heard from her he would call or come over and make her feel better. Mulder felt the need to be there, but he wasn't sure why yet.

He put his earbuds in his ears. He'd let a few songs play while he tried to figure out why he was stalking his girlfriend's house for no apparent reason.

_**(X)**_

A knock at her door roused Scully from her late-afternoon catnap. She mumbled unintelligibly as a way of response.

"Dana, dinner's ready and Bill's here. He's ready to eat." her mother called.

"_Yes, because life must revolve around when Bill decides to show up at the door."_ she thought bitterly. She wasn't even that hungry, but since her mother demanded her presence, she wouldn't fight her on it. Maggie Scully liked as many of the Scully children around the dinner table at one time as possible.

"Okay Mom, I'll be right there." she called back as she stretched.

"Oh, and Bill has a friend for dinner. He wanted me to tell you that." she said and her footsteps faded away.

"_Why does that pertain to me?"_ she thought sarcastically. The useless tidbit of information played around in her mind as she padded down to the dining room in her bare, black toe-nailed feet.

The room was set up like it always was whenever any kind of company was over. The good white table cloth was out, as well as the fine china. The room itself had an amber glow to it that came due to the low-lighting and the beige colored walls. Charlie was already sitting in his place and twirling his fork in circles while the others were still in the kitchen.

"Hey, bud." Scully ruffled his hair a bit.

"Hey." he replied solemnly.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Bill's friend's an asshole." Charlie stated coldly.

"Yeah, but they always are." she sighed,

"I don't know. This one seems like a special dirt bag." he put his head on his hand. He was bored.

"A special dirt bag? Wow, they just keep rising up the ranks, don't they?" she chuckled, which made him smile.

Charlie smirked as his sister took her place across from him at the table and everyone else poured into the dining room. First was Maggie and Bill Sr. with their arms loaded down with the food they set out across the table. Bill Jr. and his friend followed suit.

The friend didn't look too bad, Dana thought, but then again looks were deceiving, especially when it came to her brothers friends. They all looked cute and nice on the outside when just beneath the surface was their douche bag nature. He was probably six feet and an easy two hundred pounds of pure muscle. His well defined arms weren't hidden well under the straining sleeves of his t-shirt. His teeth were a perfect white arch that complimented his sandy hair and striking blue eyes. It was the kind of package that would've sent Scully's knees quivering and her heart pounding once upon a time.

Key phrase being "Once upon a time."

She unzipped the white sweatshirt that she'd officially stolen from Mulder. It was her absolute favorite that he'd had for a few years now. It was a 'Rise Against' band hoodie that he'd actually gotten at a concert. It depicted "The Sufferer and The Witness album cover one the back while the random black lines hugged around to the front. Underneath, she sported a black tank top and boyfriend jean-shorts. Her cross and Mulder's ring were the only pieces of jewelry she had on, but she hardly ever took them off to begin with.

Scully suddenly felt very underdressed as she realized her brother was speaking to her. "Chris, I'd like you to meet my sister Dana, Dana, Chris." he motioned to the space between us.

Chris held his hand out while his eyes scanned her body, he smiled. "A pleasure," his husky voice would've sent a chill up her spine had she possessed any interest at all.

"Charmed, I'm sure." she said with mild interest before adding, "Nice to meet you, too."

They said grace and began passing around dishes. Scully took very little. Her appetite had been nearly non-existent anymore until late at night. Then she would become ravenous, which she knew wasn't good for her either. It wasn't until she noticed someone was talking to her again that she came out of her daydreams.

"So Dana, what grade are you in?" Chris asked with an easy charm-smile.

"I'll be a senior in the fall." she said as she speared at the green beans on her plate.

"What are you looking at career-wise?" He scooted a little closer.

Scully suddenly felt very uneasy. "Doctor. I'm thinking maybe Pediatrics, but I'm not sure yet."

"That's very respectable." his voice was very quiet and smooth. "You have a boyfriend?"

She looked to her mother and father that sat at opposite ends of the table. They looked annoyed and angry respectively. Bill just kept his head down with a self-satisfied smile on his face. Scully put her fork down and folded her hands, "What is this? Pedophile hour?"

Chris's eyes widened as he raised his hands innocently. "Hey, you're brother told me you were eighteen and single."

Scully wasn't phased by this little tidbit of information, even though her parents were obviously outraged. She couldn't care anymore. It took too much out of her. Maggie and Bill Sr. rose from the table and quietly asked their eldest son to join them in the kitchen just as there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Charlie jumped up and was gone, looking for an out to the awkward situation.

Scully pulled the sweatshirt back on, not sure what to say to the man beside her. "My brother lied to you. I'm seventeen and in a loving relationship."

Chris shrugged, "I'm only twenty-one, you know. That's only four years difference. If I were thirty and you were twenty-six it wouldn't be that weird."

"But that's not the case, and despite your disbelief in my sincerity, I really do love my boyfriend and he loves me. I'm nothing if I'm not loyal." Scully started to rise, but his hand appeared high on her thigh, holding her down.

She couldn't believe it. No man had ever touched her so intimately before except for Mulder and, as far as Scully was concerned, he was the only one allowed to. Her hair covered her face and her voice dropped to menacing. "You want to keep that hand?"

He smiled sickeningly, "I think it's worth the loss."

Chris didn't see the punch coming even though he was staring at her the entire time. He thought it was just a threat. Scully clobbered him with a dangerous right hook that sent him falling back in his chair and seeing stars for several minutes. She wasn't proud of it, but at least it got his hands off of her.

A familiar pair of hands rested themselves on her shoulders. "Violence is an interesting color on you." She could hear the smile on Mulder's face and she relaxed her muscles a little. Scully felt him bend down and rest his cheek against the top of her head. "Something I should be concerned about?"

"No. It's nothing, babe." Scully turned in her seat to face him. He had one of his extreme-emo outfits on that made her want to hug him. Dressed in black from head to toe, the only splash of color was from his solitary necklace. The purple stone from her ring rested against his heart, rising and falling with each of his breaths. She stood in order to fall into his arms.

"Aw…isn't that cute." Chris said once he started paying attention to his surroundings again. "Braniac falls for the goth. I should get my camera."

Scully walked away knowing that Mulder wouldn't follow her right away, but he would after a few minutes. He would get the story from Charlie and giver her some time to cool down before he would go to her. This way, he knew how he could approach the topic without being slugged like the last guy.

Mulder considered himself many things and stupid was not one of them.

Within the next five minutes, Scully heard him coming up the stairs. She sat in the hallway against the cold hardwood floor and shivering a little despite the fact it was nearly eighty-five degrees outside. She was still angry about the ordeal, but she wouldn't say so.

He sat down next to her and she spoke, "Did you say anything to him?"

"No…while I would've loved to, you wouldn't want me to." she met his eyes. "If I had said what I wanted to say, it would've undermined your authority and your independence. I know how much those mean to you."

She nodded as she tried to fight back the tears that welled up to try to choke her. "Thank you."

"But the next guy I see lookin' at you like that is getting this fist right across their face." He waved his clenched right hand powerfully.

Scully had to smile this time. "Okay." she moved closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry I haven't called or texted. I got so caught up in stuff around here."

"It's okay." he squeezed her shoulder, "I'm not going to lie and say you didn't have me worried a little. I know I'm not very experienced, but when a woman doesn't talk to a man after the first time they make love, it's slightly nerve-wracking."

She stiffened a little. His words were whispered so quietly that it would be impossible for even Superman to hear them from downstairs. Scully lifted her head to meet his eyes. "You have nothing to worry about there. I promise you I'll never regret that night for as long as I live."

The fingers of Mulder's right hand wove together with those of her left. "Neither will I."

They sat together in silence for some long minutes before they heard the front door open and shut. Their ears pricked at the sound like dogs. "Do you think the coast is clear?" Scully asked.

"I don't know, ace. I'll go check." he unwillingly disentangled himself from her and slinked down the stairs noiselessly. Scully followed close behind, knowing she was safe in her own house. They padded into the kitchen quietly where everyone stood with their arms folded.

Mulder walked in with his palms open in an innocent gesture. It earned him a smirk or two. "Everything all right?" he asked.

"For now." Bill Scully stated. "Your mother and I are really sorry about that, Starbuck. He didn't tell us anything other than he was bringing a friend home for dinner."

"It's alright." she stepped up and gave her father a hug. "I know you guys better than to set me up like that."

"That, and we tend to believe you when you say you're happy." Maggie added. "But even if you weren't…this was just sneaky and underhanded."

"Oh well. Stuff happens and time to move on. Would you like help with the dishes, Mom?" Scully asked nonchalantly, ready to move past this evening.

Her mother shook her head lightly. "No, thank you dear, I can get them myself. Are you two hanging around here?" she gestured to the space between her daughter and her boyfriend.

Scully turned her head to look at him. "Did you have anything special in mind?"

Mulder saw that she was pleading with him to say no. She was tired and comfortable and she really just wanted to stay at home with her boyfriend and the rest of her family without World War Three breaking out. He shrugged, "You know me, Scully, anywhere that isn't my house is fine with me. Heck, I'd even prefer a chick flick right now."

Three pairs of eyes that had been watching him widened while his girlfriend materialized by his side, an evil grin on her features. "I'll make you regret saying that, Fox Mulder." she said.

_**(X)**_

_So much, so young, I've faced on my own_

_Walls I built up became my home_

_I'm strong and I'm sure there's a fire in us_

_Sweet love, so pure_

_I catch my breath with just one beating heart_

_And I embrace myself, please don't tear this apart_

_I found a man I can trust_

_And boy, I believe in us_

_I am terrified to love for the first time_

_Can't you see that I'm bound in chains?_

_I've finally found my way_

_I am bound to you_

_I am bound to you_

Scully burrowed into Mulder a little bit more, savoring the warm comfort he provided and drifting a little. She knew he only pretended to be angry at her when she broke out her copy of "Burlesque". He pulled it off convincingly enough, but she knew if it had been anybody besides Christina Aguilera that he would've lost all interest. She couldn't blame him for having a little celebrity crush. Scully would allow his so long as he continued to accept hers on Michael Vartan.

The two cuddled up in front of the TV not long after Scully went to retrieve the DVD that they were both watching half-heartedly. He sat with his back against the front of the couch while she lay beside him with her head on his shoulder. Scully's mind had wandered off not long after "Tough Lover". There was a strange sadness that had been enveloping her for the last few weeks, slowly chipping away at her resolve to stay cheerful.

She thought herself an idiot. What did she have to be sad about? Absolutely nothing, but that didn't stop the feeling. Scully wrapped her small arms around Mulder's waist as she pushed back her empty thoughts. He noticed her nuzzling closer and hugged back. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, my mind drifted off." she refocused herself.

"Where'd you go?" he inquired. One of Mulder's biggest interests these days was where her subconscious took her in moments like these where they were just enjoying being close. He was becoming desperate to know everything there was to know about her. Her life was an open book to him, he knew, but he wanted to know her darkest thoughts, secret desires, anything that could bring their already inter-woven souls closer together.

"Nowhere important." came the automatic reply. She pulled the blanket her brother had thrown over them earlier during one of their kisses up around him more. Her thoughts made her cold and now the only thought on her mind was warming up.

Scully closed her eye again and felt herself being moved. "C'mere Dana, you're a fricken icicle." Mulder pulled her to sit on his lap sideways. The new position allowed for more contact than the previous one, which she was grateful for so many reasons. She didn't have to crane her neck uncomfortably over the coffee table anymore, she was warmer, and Mulder's warm, calloused hand rested high up on her bare thigh. In her mind, she couldn't get much more comfortable than this.

"Thank you." she nudged her head into his gently like a dog might. He smiled lightly at the action. "John's throwing a party we're invited to." Scully mentioned unconsciously.

"Yeah? I've never been to his place before." he said.

"It's huge and beautiful and it has a pool." she said with a slight whine in her voice.

"Jealous?" Muder smirked.

"Maybe a little. You wanna go?" she asked.

"Of course. I love dancing with you. We don't do it enough." he gave her a small squeeze.

"Mulder…" Scully propped her head up on her hand, feeling that they needed to talk about what happened two days ago, but stopped herself. "…never mind."

"I think we do need to mind if we're thinking about the same thing." Mulder nuzzled her neck, dotting small kisses there. "Personally, I can't stop thinking about it."

She melted like butter against him. "I'm sorry I left so fast that morning. I had to get home and changed for church. And before you even ask it, I don't regret it and I didn't go to confess it. I just had to go to mass with my family."

His palm ran up her smooth leg. "It's alright."

She smiled a little bit, "I did watch you sleep for a little while. It was nice to see you look so…untroubled."

"Aw…but I thought I pulled the troubled look off so well." he cracked.

Scully nuzzled into him again and pressed a kiss to his temple, content to sit in the silence. Charlie and her parents left for Blockbuster about fifteen minutes ago, leaving them alone in the house to talk about what had happened at the dinner table that night. Despite her mother's insistence to her daughter that she do talk to Mulder about it, truth was there was nothing to talk about. They both knew what happened and there wasn't anything to discuss on the matter. Bill was being his usual self and there wasn't anything they could do to change that.

She sighed. "Silence."

"I'll go out on a limb and say it's a rarity for you."

"Why do you think I stay up so late at night? It's so I can have some peace and some of my own thoughts." she replied. "Although too much of it can drive a person crazy."

"Agreed." Mulder said. Shifting Scully off of him, he rose and walked towards the piano. He sat behind it and lifted the cover off of the keys.

"Are you going to serenade me, Mulder?" she asked jokingly.

"I'll play if you do the serenading part of it." he said.

"Um, no, nice try." she laughed.

"Scully, you have such a beautiful voice." he commented.

"And you're full of it, but you don't see me saying anything about that, do you?"

"It's only me here." he pointed out the obvious as he tested a few notes. "No one'll hear except for me and I don't judge. You know that better than anybody. Please?"

She stuck her tongue out in response.

"Oh, that's mature." Mulder chided.

"I don't care." she smiled jokingly.

He rolled his eyes as he fingered a few keys, testing the sound. Once he found the pitch he wanted to be at, he let go of thinking about it. His fingers moved instinctively, dancing across the sea of black and white in a precise yet graceful way that piano players do. A whole minute passed before Scully spoke again.

"That's really beautiful." she whispered.

"I think so, too." he smiled.

"What's it called?"

"Aria. It's by some Italian guy. I can't remember his name." Mulder's voice cut off as a crescendo hit and his hands began to strike the keys with more force as well as a faster tempo. Scully closed her eyes and relaxed into the gentle melody. Her cares melted away as she drifted off.

* * *

**_Thoughts and comments appreciated as usual_**


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